Police Post Not A Place Where Public Servants Are To Be Attacked With Fire Arms, Dandas Or By Pelting Stones On Them: Delhi High Court

While denying bail to a man accused of attacking a Police Post and firing at the police officials from an illegal weapon, the Delhi High Court has observed that the Police Post is not a place where the public servants are supposed to be attacked with fire-arms, Dandas and Lathis or by pelting stones on them.

Justice Talwant Singh was of the prima facie view that the FSL report showed that the man was holding a fire-arm in his hand. The Court also noted that a sub inspector, complainant in the matter, was the main target of the attack by the accused persons, who had sustained severe injuries.

The Sub Inspector was the Chowki In-charge, whose place of posting being the Police Post was attacked by a group of people, who were armed with Dandas, Lathis.

"The Police Post is a place where people go to lodge complaints of the disputes amongst them and it is not a place where the public servants are supposed to be attacked with fire-arms, Dandas and Lathis or by pelting stones on them," the Court observed.

One Naved had approached the High Court seeking bail claiming that he was arrested in June 2020 in a false and fabricated case registered registered at Police Station Sarai Rohilla where he had gone to lodge an FIR against the complainant of this case and his associates.

The Sub Inspector (complainant) was present in Police Post Inderlok when one person, namely, Kale met him and made complaint against Mohsin, Salman, Naved and unknown others about the loot in his shop and being beaten up by the said persons.

It was the case of the complainant that one Sadeqin was brought to the Police Post, where the sub inspector made some formal enquiry and in the meantime, Mohsin, Naved and others reached the Police Post and they started shouting in abusive language while the SI tried to calm them.

The petitioner namely Naved was stated to be having pistol in his hand and others were armed with Lathis and dandas.

It was alleged that the said persons were pushed out by SI alongwith the help of other police officials but they again came back and started pelting stones at Police Post when the SI was hit by a stone. It was stated that the SI had then fired with his government pistol and during that period, the petitioner also fired from his pistol.

The petitioner had moved the Court on the ground that he was a peace loving and law-abiding citizen of India, young in age, deeply rooted in the society and being in custody since June 2020..

The Court noted that an FSL report was filed on record which supported the version of the police that the petitioner was holding a fire-arm which was used.

"It is true that the petitioner has also filed on record an expert opinion that what he was holding in his hand was merely a face-mask and not a fire-arm. This fact will be tested in trial at the appropriate stage but, prima facie, the FSL report shows that the accused/applicant was holding a fire-arm in his hand," the Court said.

Observing that the defence of the petitioner can be proved at the time of trial, the Court noted that there was previous history of him being involved in criminal cases.

"The police officials were doing their duty. Apparently, there was no instigation on their part and it was in the nature of disputes between two parties but instead of settling the said dispute, the present applicant and his associates chose to attack the police party itself. The possibility of present petitioner indulging in threatening the witnesses or indulging in the same crime again and fleeing from justice cannot be rules out at this stage," the Court said.

Accordingly, the bail plea was dismissed.

Title: NAVED v. THE STATE

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 565

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