Allahabad HC Slams UP Police For Detaining Pregnant Woman & Child, Orders Compensation Of 1 Lakh

The case at hand involved a 21-year-old woman who, in 2021, had gone missing after leaving to attend an exam in Agra, leading to the filing of a kidnapping case against her husband. The woman later married the man a day after her family reported her missing. Despite the significant time lapse of three years, little progress had been made in the investigation, except for the recording of the informant’s statement. In November 2023, the police made a sudden attempt to take the woman’s statement, despite the case being stagnant for years.

A Division Bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, condemned the actions of the Investigating Officer (IO), Sub Inspector and called for a thorough investigation into the matter by the Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh. The Court said, "To say the least, we have no hesitation to put on record that the manner in which police duties were carried out by the Investigating Officer were far far away from the process of law and is a clear case of abuse of the authority in the capacity of Investigating Officer,"

The Court noted, “The victim who is carrying pregnancy of about eight months has thus been subjected to torture by making her sit in the police station from 12.15 Hrs. until a mention was made before this court and the same having been accepted and led to the institution of the present petition pursuant to which the victim has been brought to this court. The victim in this manner remained in the police custody from 12.15 hrs. at least upto the time she has stepped into this court room at 6.30 p.m.”

The Court was shocked by the police's decision to detain her in such a condition, which it deemed an act of torture. The Court underscored the cruelty of making a heavily pregnant woman sit at a police station for hours without justification, particularly when no male member was present at her residence to accompany her.

In its order, the Court pointed out that the Investigating Officer, who had only taken over the case recently, failed to provide a reasonable explanation for his actions. He had not even brought the case diary, which is a standard part of police investigations, and had taken the woman and her child to the police station under the pretense of recording her statement.

The Court called this a "sham investigation" and accused the IO of abuse of authority. Furthermore, the Court said, "A simple query regarding her age and her marital status would have brought whole process of investigation to an end. It is also to be noted that the F.I.R. which itself mentions the age of victim as 21 years was sufficient to restrict the Investigating Officer from proceeding with the investigation once the allegations levelled therein do not constitute any cognizable offence,"

The Court also criticized the IO for not considering the safety of the woman and her child, as her detention could have put them at risk. Given the circumstances, the Court ordered that the woman be immediately released and handed over to her husband, who had filed a Habeas Corpus petition seeking her release. The Bench expressed its disappointment with the police’s handling of the case, stressing the importance of vigilance and due diligence in such investigations.

The Court further instructed the State to pay ₹1 lakh as compensation to the woman for the distress caused to her and her child. It also directed the DGP to review the incident and take appropriate action, reporting back to the Court within three months. The Court emphasized the need for the State to issue clear guidelines for dealing with similar cases involving women in the future.

This matter will be taken up again by the Court on December 11, with further proceedings likely to follow depending on the actions taken by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Cause Title: Chandini Singh & Anr. v. State of U.P. & Ors.

Appearance:

Petitioners: Advocates Raghvendra P. Singh and Mohd Sheraj

Click here to read/download Order