Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has awarded compensation of Rs. 40,000 to a man who was kept at George Town police station for four days to pressure his absconding brother into surrendering, holding that the police cannot unlawfully detain an innocent family member of the actual offender, and directing that the court's displeasure be recorded in the service records of the SHO and the investigating officer.
A Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant was hearing a habeas corpus petition alleging that the corpus, Arvind Kumar Yadav, had been unlawfully detained at Police Station George Town, Prayagraj. The petition arose from FIR Crime No. 104 of 2026, registered under Sections 126(2), 191(2), 352, 115(2) and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, to which Section 109 (attempt to murder) was later added. The accused in that case, Suresh Kumar, is the brother of the corpus.
The petitioners submitted that the corpus, who has no concern with the case against his brother, was taken from his house in Jaunpur on 23.06.2026 and released from the police station only at about 7:00 pm on 26.06.2026. They placed on record the Supurdginama furnished to the police at the time of release, under which he was handed over to one Vaibhav Singh.
The investigating officer, Ashvani Savita, appeared before the court and stated that, on the directions of the SHO, Yogendra Kumar Singh, he and other police personnel went to the corpus's house and picked him up on 23.06.2026 for interrogation. He added that the brother was a fugitive until he was granted anticipatory bail on 03.08.2026. The State informed the court that Savita had been given the investigation only on 24.06.2026, by the previous investigating officer.
Pursuant to the court's earlier direction, the Call Detail Record of the corpus's mobile number was produced. It showed his location in Jaunpur until 7:02 am on 23.06.2026, then in Prayagraj, and at George Town at 7:56 am. His phone was switched off at 12:11 pm that day and was switched on again only at 8:08 am on 27.06.2026 at Jaunpur. CCTV footage also confirmed his presence at the police station from 23.06.2026 to 25.06.2026, although no footage for 26.06.2026 was produced.
The Bench held that this material, read with the Supurdginama, established the petitioners' case, and that it was undisputed that the corpus had remained in the unlawful custody of the police personnel of the station for at least four days. It held that he was entitled to compensation for the wrongful detention.
Awarding Rs. 40,000, the court directed the State to pay the amount and to recover it from the salaries of those responsible for the illegal detention, in such proportions as it deems fit. It observed that although the corpus was not involved in the offence, he appeared to have been kept at the police station to pressure the accused to surrender, even though the accused later obtained anticipatory bail.
Stating that "The police cannot resort to pressure tactics to compel the actual offender to surrender," the court held that unlawfully detaining an innocent member of the offender's family constitutes unlawful detention, for which the person is amenable to compensation for the unjust loss of liberty, however temporary. It directed that its displeasure at the conduct of SHO Yogendra Kumar Singh and investigating officer Ashvani Savita be duly recorded in their respective service records, and disposed of the petition.
Case Title: Arvind Kumar Yadav (Corpus) & Anr. vs. State of U.P. & 4 Ors., Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No. 906 of 2026
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