By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
Mumbai: In its first kind of verdict in criminal cases, the Bombay High Court on Friday awarded compensation to a citizen for his illegal detention by the police. The court snubbed Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Ramrao Wagh and rejected his apology for the wrongful detention of Pawan Arora.
While rejecting all excuses of the police officer for the negligence the division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Rajesh Ketkar said that prima facie it was a case of “gross negligence’’, and asked the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to Arora. Last month Mr Arora had approached the HC asking Rs 2 lakh in compensation.
As per the TOI report the Navi Mumbai police commissioner Mr Wagh relying on the documents prepared by his subordinates ordered the detention of Arora on May 16, 2008, under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act (MPDA).
Nearly nine months later on January 23, 2009 the HC quashed the order which cited 28 cases allegedly filed against Arora when it found that 24 out of them were false.
The court did not accept the apology of Mr Wagh that the detention order was based on the documents prepared by the subordinates.
Justice Desai reportedly said that the preventive detention orders were drastic laws and thereby should be used with care and circumspection to ensure that none is deprived of his liberty without trial in a lighthearted manner.
As per the report during the last hearing of the case another bench of court had restrained the commissioner from passing any further orders to detain people. However, on Friday the HC restored the power but asked Wagh to be careful in future. Mr Wagh told that a departmental action has been initiated against the concerned officers.
The High Court has asked the state government to circulate the order to entire police machinery in Maharashtra.