Supreme Court Asks 6 Maharashtra Police Officers To Pay Rs 6 Lakhs Cost To Tenants Who Were Illegally Evicted

The tenants claimed 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 are arraigned as accused.

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 the FIR and investigate the case.

Against the Sessions Court order directing the registration of the FIR, the accused persons approached the High Court for quashing the complaint. However, the High Court declined to interfere and dismissed the complaint, directing the police to further investigate the case.

It is against the impugned order of the High Court that the accused preferred a Special Leave Petition (Criminal) before the Supreme Court.

At the outset, the Court noted that a settlement has been reached between the complainant tenants and the accused persons, with subsequent purchasers paying an amount of Rs. 10 lakhs to each of the tenants. In lieu thereof, the tenants filed affidavits stating that they do not wish to further prosecute their complaint.

The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma observed that the continuation of the proceedings would serve no purpose.

"We find that the continuance of these two criminal proceedings would not be of any avail once the complainant has himself stated to withdraw the complaint. Their losses having been compensated, any further investigation or trial would be an exercise in futility."

Although the court was not inclined to continue the criminal proceedings against the accused persons, it expressed displeasure with the conduct of the police personnel.

"However, what we are not satisfied with is why the police personnel have been allowed to go scot-free in a case where they had an apparent role in conspiring and abetting the crime of the 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."

Thus, accordingly, the court directed that the six police personnel will suffer a cost of Rs. 6.0 lakhs for each of the two complainants.

Out of the six police personnel, three are constables, one is a Head Constable, one is a Sub-Inspector, and one is an Inspector. They shall suffer a cost of Rs. 50,000/- per Constable, Rs.1,00,000/- by the Head Constable, Rs. 1.50 lacs by the Sub-Inspector, and Rs. 2.0 lacs by the Inspector, totalling Rs. 6.0 lacs for each case with the above distribution.

The Court clarified 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.