The Supreme Court has reprimanded the Maharashtra Police for illegally detaining tenants, coercing them to sign documents against their will, and demolishing the premises in question without any order from a competent court.
The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma imposed a cost to Rs 6 lakh on six police personnel of the state police department and observed that the continuation of the proceedings would serve no purpose.
It said the continuance of these two criminal proceedings would not be of any avail once the complainant had himself stated to withdraw the complaint. Their losses having been compensated, any further investigation or trial would be an exercise in futility.
The tenants apprised the Apex Court that they were forcefully evicted from the rented premises by the subsequent purchaser of the property while conspiring with the police. Both the purchaser and the six police personnel were arraigned as accused.
The plea further said that when the FIR was not registered at the instance of the private complaint to the magistrate, the tenants preferred a revision application before the Sessions Court, and the police were directed to register an FIR and investigate the case.
The accused challenged the Sessions Court order directing the registration of FIR before the High Court, which declined to interfere and dismissed the complaint, directing the police to further investigate the case.
The accused then moved the Apex Court by way of a Special Leave Petition (Criminal).
The Apex Court, while showing a disinclination to continue the criminal proceedings against the accused, expressed its dissatisfaction over the conduct of police personnel.
It said it failed to understand why the Maharashtra Police personnel were ‘allowed’ to go scot-free in a case where they had an apparent role in conspiring and abetting the crime of illegal detention of the tenants, coercing them to sign documents against their will, and getting the premises in question demolished without any order from a competent court.
The Bench then imposed a cost of Rs 6 lakh on the six police personnel.
The accused include three constables, one Head Constable, one Sub-Inspector, and an Inspector.
The Bench noted that the observations made in the judgment and also the direction to suffer compensation to the tenants by the six police personnel will not be treated as adverse to their interest in consideration of their promotions etc.