Telangana High Court Issues Contempt Notice to Hyderabad Police Commissioner Sajjanar
The Telangana High Court has issued a notice to Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar in a contempt of court case, after a city businessman alleged that a direction passed by the court had been wilfully disobeyed.
Justice T. Madhavi Devi issued the notice on a petition filed by Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam, a 33-year-old businessman from Aman Nagar in the Old City. The matter has been adjourned to Monday for the next hearing.
A contempt notice is not a finding of guilt. It is a formal step requiring the person named to respond to the court, which then decides whether its order has in fact been disobeyed.
The background
The case relates to events on the night of August 6. In his writ petition, Mr. Alam alleged that officers of the Bhavaninagar police station illegally detained him and beat him, without registering any case against him. He named Bhavaninagar Inspector N. Karuna Kumar and Sub-Inspector B. Pochaiah in that petition.
He also stated that he had submitted a complaint about the alleged incident to the Director General of Police, but that no action had been initiated against the officers concerned.
The August 13 direction
On August 13, Justice Madhavi Devi disposed of the writ petition with an instruction to the Hyderabad Police Commissioner. The Commissioner was asked to examine the petitioner's complaint and to verify CCTV footage of the police station, so that the facts behind the allegations of illegal detention and torture could be ascertained.
The contempt petition
Mr. Alam then approached the High Court again, this time filing a contempt case. His contention is that the direction of August 13 is being wilfully disobeyed by the Commissioner. It is this claim that the court will examine at the next hearing.
What contempt of court means
Under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, contempt is classified as civil or criminal. Wilful disobedience of a court order generally falls in the civil category. The purpose of such proceedings is to ensure that orders passed by courts are obeyed and that the authority of the judiciary is not undermined. Courts also have the power to initiate contempt proceedings on their own.
Proceedings of this nature are aimed at securing compliance, and the person or authority named is given an opportunity to be heard. Depending on the facts, a court may accept an explanation, direct compliance within a fixed time, or proceed further if it finds that its order was deliberately disregarded.
Allegations remain unproven
None of the allegations made in the writ petition or in the contempt petition has been established so far. The police officers named, and the Commissioner, have the right to place their version of events before the court. An allegation in a petition is a claim made by one side, and the notice issued by the High Court should not be read as a conclusion against any person.
Why such cases are followed closely
Complaints of ill-treatment in custody, and of detention without a registered case, are serious when made — and equally serious for the officers involved if they are found to be untrue. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that police stations must maintain working CCTV systems and keep records of detention, precisely so that disputed accounts can be checked against an independent source. Directions asking a senior officer to examine a complaint and verify footage are a common way for courts to test whether such allegations have substance.
A person who believes that a criminal case has not been registered despite a complaint can approach higher police officers or the jurisdictional Magistrate under the procedure laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Such remedies exist alongside the option of moving the High Court.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday.
