Division Bench Finds Officers Guilty of Contempt of Court, Rejects Apology and Imposes Fine
In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court convicted four police officers of contempt of court for their involvement in the public flogging of five Muslim men last October in Undhela, Kheda district. The court sentenced the officers to 14 days of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000.
This verdict, delivered by Justices AS Supehia and Gita Gopi, underscores the severe nature of the officers’ actions, which constituted a gross violation of human rights and disregarded the guidelines set by the Supreme Court in the landmark DK Basu case. The guidelines detail proper police procedures during arrests.
The bench strongly condemned the officers’ behavior, stating, “They engaged in inhuman acts with the intent to humiliate the victims. They not only violated the DK Basu guidelines but also infringed upon the personal liberty of the victims.”
Despite an offer of compensation to the victims, the court justified the sentence, considering the incident’s wide circulation on social media, which brought it to the public’s attention. The court rejected the officers’ plea for leniency and maintained that accepting apologies in such cases could send a detrimental message to society, undermining public trust in the judiciary and potentially encouraging similar acts in the future.
The incident involved an attack on five Muslim men by police officers from the Matar Police Station in Kheda district. The victims were accused of pelting stones at a Navratri event crowd in Undhela village. Video footage capturing the flogging circulated widely on social media, leading to public outrage.
