Bombay High Court Frowns Upon Cop Sending Facebook Friend Request To Complainant Woman, Orders Enquiry Against Him

The Bombay High Court on Monday (January 6) ordered enquiry against a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), who sent a friend request to a complainant woman on social media platform - FaceBook (FB).

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Dr Neela Gokhale questioned the motive of the PSI in sending a friend request to the complainant woman on FB.

"How can you send a friend request to a woman that too in the midnight? How can you send a request of friendship on social media to a woman, who is a complainant in a case which you are probing?" Justice Mohite Dere questioned the PSI, who was present in the courtroom.

Upon being asked, the officer said it was "by mistake." 

At this, Justice Mohite-Dere said, "What's your business in sending her a friend request? We will not tolerate this."

The bench then sought to know the designation of the officer and accordingly Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde informed the judges that the officer was a PSI and this was his first posting. 

"What? He is a PSI? Then how does he get time for social media. Being a PSI he must be the busiest officer in the (police) station. And this is his first posting and he is doing this. Imagine what will he do in future," the bench remarked. 

The bench therefore sought to know if police officers can use social media.

"Are these officers permitted to use social media or be active on social media platforms?" Justice Mohite-Dere asked, to which Additional Pubic Prosecutor Vitthal Konde-Deshmukh, responded in the negative. 

The bench, therefore, ordered the zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to initiate a proper enquiry against the PSI and take action after considering his conduct. 

The bench was hearing a plea filed by a woman, who sought directions for proper probe in her complaint with the Samata Nagar Police Station in Kandivali, Mumbai. As per the petitioner woman, she and her husband had a marital dispute and thus, she was living separately at Ghatkopar. The couple's daughter lived in a rented apartment in Kandivali. 

In August 2024, when the daughter was staying with the petitioner at Ghatkopar since she (daughter) underwent a neurological surgery/treatment, it is alleged that the petitioner's husband sent some persons and got the daughter's belongings removed from the said rented flat. 

As per the petitioner, around Rs 15 lakh cash and several of her gold and diamond jewellery was kept at the daughter's flat but the same is not there at present and she thus wrote several letters to the officers at the Samata Nagar Police Station to register an FIR under charges of theft and record her statement. However, when nothing moved ahead, she petitioned the HC seeking a direction to the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai to order the local police register the FIR.

However, on Monday, when the matter was called out, the petitioners advocates Vijay Kantharia and Shubhada Salvi, informed the bench that the PSI made phone calls to their client on several occasions, late at night, asking her to visit the police station for getting her statement recorded. However, the petitioner did not visit the station, when the concerned PSI called her. 

The judges, however, were irked to peruse the printout of the friend request sent by the PSI to the petitioner, late on Sunday (January 5) night.

The bench has now adjourned the hearing for a week, for the DCP to take action against the PSI.