HC slams police for illegal custody, awards Rs 2.5 lakh compensation
Bengaluru: In a significant ruling against police high-handedness, the Karnataka High Court has ordered the state government to compensate a Bengaluru man who was illegally detained in a police station for several days without due legal process.
Hearing a habeas corpus petition, a division bench of Justice Anu Shivaram and Justice Vijaykumar A. Patil ruled that the detention of Ravi, a resident of Laggere, was unlawful and violated his constitutional rights.
The petition was filed by Ravi’s wife, M.V. Varalakshmi, who alleged that her husband had been picked up by Gangammagudi police on October 14, 2025, but was kept in custody without registering any case. According to her complaint, Ravi was neither produced before a magistrate nor informed about the grounds of his arrest.
Court records revealed that the police registered an FIR only on October 17 under the Arms Act, three days after taking him into custody. He was produced before the magistrate court on October 18, after which police custody was granted till October 24.
The High Court expressed strong displeasure over the conduct of the policeand stated that the entire detention from October 14 to October 17 was completely illegal. Referring to the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Joginder Kumar vs State of Uttar Pradesh, the bench said that arrests cannot be made in an arbitrary manner and that procedural safeguards must be strictly followed.
The court also relied on an inquiry report submitted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West Division), which clearly admitted that Ravi had been kept in the police station without any formal legal action during the said period.
Holding the police guilty of violating Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, the court ordered the government to pay ₹2 lakh as compensation to Ravi for the trauma and injustice suffered by him.
In addition, the court awarded ₹50,000 to Varalakshmi as litigation costs for fighting the case on behalf of her husband. The bench further directed the authorities to recover the compensation amount from the salaries of the erring police officers after conducting a departmental inquiry. It also instructed the police department to fix responsibility and take disciplinary action against those found guilty.
The case unfolded after Varalakshmi approached Byadarahalli police station to file a missing complaint when her husband could not be contacted. She was later informed that he was in the custody of Gangammagudi police. Even after intervention by the Human Rights Commission, Ravi was not released, forcing her to approach the High Court.
