The Allahabad High Court recently remarked that the police in Uttar Pradesh have little regard for the fundamental rights and civil liberties of citizens.

A Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev added that the infringement of fundamental rights seems to have become a matter of routine for the UP Police. 

"The situation that exists in the State of Uttar Pradesh relating to the civil liberty is shameful, to say the least. The police appear to have little regard for the fundamental rights and civil liberties of citizens, and the infringement of these rights seems to have become a matter of routine for the UP Police," the Court's November 3 order said.

The Court made the observation while flagging the repeated police failure to produce CCTV footage in cases involving allegations of illegal detention.

"In case after case whenever CCTV footages are called for by this Court, in large majority of the cases, it is the same report which comes stating that CCTV footage is not available on account of one reason or other."

The Bench was dealing with a habeas corpus petition filed by the daughter of a man who was kept in illegal detention for two days by the police before his formal arrest on September 7 in connection with a complaint alleging a honeytrap.

In order to confirm the claim of illegal detention, the Court on October 13 directed the police to produce the CCTV footage of the relevant period. However, it was told that the footage was not available on account of an incident that had taken place at the police station on September 5.

The general diary revealed that the police blamed a thunderstorm for CCTV malfunctioning.

The Court observed that the police cannot make such an excuse in a case of illegal detention.

"Any averment to that effect by the respondents concerned is sufficient for this Court to hold that the contention of the petitioners that the corpus was unlawfully detained is correct and that CCTV footage is deliberately not being provided to the Court in order to obfuscate the truth maliciously," the Court said.

Consequently, the Court allowed the habeas corpus petition and ordered the release of the petitioner's father.

The Court also observed that Annu Kumari, the Station House Officer of the Nangal Police Station Nangal in Bijnor district had deliberately not provided the CCTV footage.

"This Court records its displeasure which shall be entered into her service records and her further continuation on the present post should also be considered by the State," the Bench directed.

The Court also ordered the State to pay ₹20,000 as costs to the petitioners.

Advocate PK Singh represented the petitioners.

[Read Order]