Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has strongly criticised the station house officer (SHO) of Chandan Nagar Police Station, Indramani Patel, for illegally detaining and handcuffing a citizen without any registered offence.
The division bench observed that the action was in gross violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Akash Tiwari, alleging that his brother-in-law, Raja Dubey, was unlawfully detained by the police on November 26. A photograph submitted with the petition showed Dubey in handcuffs inside the police station.
During the proceedings, the SHO admitted that Dubey was detained and handcuffed, claiming it was done to prevent him from fleeing due to the seriousness of an alleged offence involving Dubey’s father. However, he also admitted that no court order was obtained to justify the handcuffing.
Taking strong exception to the SHO’s conduct, the bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi directed the Indore commissioner of police to submit a report specifying the departmental and criminal actions proposed against the officer.
The court also noted that CCTV footage from November 26–27 had been secured in compliance with its earlier directive. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on December 9, 2025.
