Single-judge Justice Shampa Sarkar noted many discrepancies in the arrest of one Vishal who, his family alleged, was arrested only because he was supporting his cousin, a Congress candidate, during the 2022 civic body elections.
“If the State becomes a law breaker, the writ court should not hesitate to compensate for the laches and the lapses. Every accused and his next of kin have a right to expect a free and fair investigation,” the judge observed.
Noting the numerous lapses on part of the Police in summoning Vishal first in a random case and then arresting him in a narcotics case, the judge said that a lump sum amount can be awarded for the said regularities, as a palliative.
“There is a need to remind ourselves that rights of individuals is the citadel of democracy and every violation would be an attack on civilized society. Thus, while the reliefs prayed for in the writ petition are denied, the Court awards compensation of ₹2 lakh to the entire family for the stigma, social embarrassment and indignity suffered by each of them and especially Vishal as also for destruction of evidence (CCTV footages),” the judge ordered.
Such compensation, the judge said, is “a balm on the wound” for violation of human dignity and for the failure of the police to instill confidence that the investigation was fair, impartial and a quest for the truth.
The bench further ordered that the CCTV cameras should be installed within two months in all police stations and units of the Barrackpore City Police with at least one year back up capacity for the time being. It further ordered mandatory videography of seizure of commercial quantity of narcotics in all cases.
Source: Barandbench
