Bombay High Court Orders Police to Pay Compensation for Illegal Arrest in Family Dispute Case.
In a significant ruling, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has directed an investigating officer from Hingoli, Maharashtra, to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the unlawful arrest of a man.
The case came to light after the petitioner filed a petition to quash the FIR registered at Hingoli’s City Police Station on June 27, 2024.
The FIR accused the petitioner of defamation and cited Sections 66-A (sending offensive material) and 66-B (retaining a stolen computer) of the Information Technology Act.
Despite these legal discrepancies, the petitioner was arrested past midnight on August 6 and was granted bail on the same day. The petitioner alleged that his arrest was influenced by a family dispute involving his estranged wife, who had previously filed a marital cruelty case against him.
In a strongly worded judgment, the bench comprising Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and SG Chapalgaonkar criticized the investigating officer’s conduct, emphasizing that he failed to verify the applicability of the invoked sections before making the arrest.
The court further highlighted the “high-handedness of the police machinery,” noting that no reason for the arrest was provided to the petitioner, as required by law for cases with imprisonment under seven years.
The court noted that the alleged defamatory message was sent via WhatsApp, which is end-to-end encrypted, meaning the content was intended only for the recipient, not the public.
Concluding that the FIR was filed with “mala fide intention,” the court quashed the FIR and ordered the investigating officer and complainant to pay compensation to the petitioner, underscoring the importance of adhering to the rule of law and respecting individual rights, even in the face of family disputes.
