Allahabad HC calls civil liberties situation in UP 'shameful', flags illegal detention by police
The Allahabad HC ordered the petitioner's release and directed the state to pay him ₹20,000, while flagging repeated claims of missing police CCTV footage.
In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court has expressed deep concern over the civil liberties scenario in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and slammed the police for their blatant disregard for citizens' fundamental rights. The bench, led by Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev, heard a habeas corpus petition and decided to take the matter seriously. The court observed that police officers seem to lack respect for the fundamental rights and civil liberties of citizens, with infringements becoming a regular occurrence.
The case revolves around a man named Ausad Ahmad, who claimed he was unlawfully detained by the Bijnor police on September 5, 2026. According to Ahmad, the police arrested him on the aforementioned date but only formally arrested him on September 7. The court took a serious note of Ahmad's claims, particularly when the state claimed that the CCTV footage from the police station was unavailable due to a thunderstorm causing the system to malfunction.
The court, however, rejected this excuse and stated that any such explanation would be sufficient for it to accept Ahmad's contention that he was unlawfully detained and that the CCTV footage was intentionally withheld to obscure the truth. The court also noted a pattern of the same excuse being used in numerous cases where CCTV footage was requested.
In addition, the court directed that police SHO Anoo Kumari be recorded for her conduct, noting that she deliberately withheld the CCTV footage relevant to the case. The court further ordered the state to pay ₹20,000 in costs to Ahmad within seven days.
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