The Allahabad High Court has delivered a strong censure against the police authorities in the Prayagraj Commissionerate, Uttar Pradesh, observing that the preventive detention powers vested in Police Commissioners under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) are being "misused to the hilt."
The Court's critical observations came while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a man named Mansoor Ahmed, who was illegally detained for eight days, a period far exceeding the statutory limits prescribed under the law. The judgment serves as a significant reminder of the constitutional safeguards enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and underscores the judiciary's role in curbing executive overreach.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi expressed shock at the state of affairs in the Commissionerate, noting that the powers granted to senior police authorities, which allow them to act as Magistrates, are being exercised arbitrarily. "This is shocking state of affairs in the Commissionerate, Prayagraj. The Commissioner of Police has been given the powers of a Magistrate, which are being misused to the hilt," the Bench observed.
The Court not only ordered the release and compensation of the petitioner but also flagged a systemic pattern of abuse, referencing a similar situation previously noted in the Ghaziabad Commissionerate.