Delhi HC hauls up UP police for arresting two persons in Delhi without intimating local police; “UP mein chalta hoga; yaha nahin”, says court

THE Delhi High Court Thursday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh police for arresting, without intimating the Delhi Police, a father and his son in a case involving a marriage dispute.

"UP mein chalta hoga yaha hahin" (It might work in Uttar Pradesh, won't work here), Justice Mukta Gupta said to the SHO Shamli who was asked by the court to be present.

The boy's mother said in her affidavit before the high court said that when she reached her residence from work in the evening, she found four Uttar Pradesh police personnel waiting to arrest her husband and older son. They claimed they were arresting the two but gave no particulars of the case despite her request.

The Delhi police in its status report informed the high court that they had received no intimation in regard to the purported arrest, and that it was only after they contacted the police station in Shamli, UP after the receipt of the petition, that they discovered that the arrests had been made in connection with an FIR under Section 366 (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police station, Shamli, UP. This FIR was registered on a complaint of the first petitioner's mother who was opposed to the former's marriage into the arrestee's family.

During the hearing, Justice Gupta asked the SHO Shamli whether, after the registration of FIR, any enquiry had been made as to whether the first petitioner had left her home of her own free will, what efforts were made to trace her, and whether they were informed that she was a major. The SHO, on instructions from the investigating officer, stated they were not aware whether the petitioner was a major or not. The court, however, found that it was mentioned in the FIR that petitioner no. 1 was 21 years old.

The high court has now directed the SHO, police station Shamli to file an affidavit indicating what efforts were made to trace petitioner no. 1 in Delhi, whose address was available in the FIR, and if any intimation of their arrival was ever made to the local police station in Delhi before taking any further action.

Click here to read the order