The Allahabad High Court has observed that prima facie the conduct of police was insensitive while dealing with a case of alleged harassment by police of a woman, who was thrown out of her matrimonial house by her husband.
A Single-Judge bench of Justice J.J. Munir passed this order, while hearing a petition filed by Baby and Another. In compliance with the order dated July 9, 2021, the Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police filed a further personal affidavit, including therewith an inquiry report dated July 11, 2021, submitted by the Circle Officer, Atrauli, Aligarh to the SSP Aligarh.
“The inquiry report submitted by the Circle Officer dispels the petitioner’s stand that she was threatened by SI Dinesh Chandra from Police Station Dadon, Aligarh in any manner or that police have harassed her while she was staying in village Preetamnagar, Police Station Sikandarpur, District Kasganj with her friend Mukesh. Statements of the petitioner are said to have been recorded by the Circle Officer as also of the village Pradhan. The personal affidavit of the Senior Superintendent of Police dated July 12, 2021 is in the nature of a counter-affidavit,” the Court said.
The Court stated that the Counsel for the petitioner, who has received a copy of the same in Court, shall file a rejoinder affidavit, if he so desires, within a week.
The Counsel for the petitioner, however, submitted that according to his instructions, the petitioners were indeed harassed by the police, but after orders of the court, police have relented.
The Bench ordered that until further orders, no police officer from District Aligarh or Kasganj shall harass the petitioners, compel or even advise the first petitioner to go back to her matrimonial home. The court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on July 26.
Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had called for an explanation from Senior Superintendent of Police, Aligarh, and the Superintendent of Police, Kasganj as to why a woman, harassed by her husband and thrown out of her matrimonial house, was being forced by the police to go back to her husband.
She had also filed a written complaint at Police Station Dadon, District Aligarh, however, she claimed that now, even the police have started harassing her.
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In the affidavit, it was admitted that on a missing report, a Sub-Inspector Dinesh Chandra Yadav went to village Pritam Nagar, District Kasganj, and found that the woman was living with a person named Mukesh of her free will.
To this, the Court observed that the question was whether Police had harassed her and asked her to go back and join the company of her husband.
Thus, a further affidavit was directed to be filed by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Aligarh, which shall be his personal affidavit, and an affidavit was also called from Kasganj Superintendent of Police, Manoj Kumar Sonkar.