In a significant ruling, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed a Punjab Police official to pay Rs. 10,000 as compensation to a man against whom an FIR was registered "without any basis" under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The court observed that the FIR had caused harassment and expenses to the accused, who sought anticipatory bail.
The case pertains to Pushpinder Kumar, who faced charges under Sections 15, 18, 20, 21, and 22 of the NDPS Act at the Police Station, City Hoshiarpur. His counsel, Advocate Ajay Pal Singh Rehan, argued that the case was entirely false and filed with malicious intent by SI Surinder Kumar from the Police Station City Hoshiarpur. Kumar was allegedly being targeted based on prior fabricated cases against him.
The state counsel, represented by SI Paramjit Singh, claimed that the police acted on confidential information about the petitioner's involvement in the drug trade. However, when they visited the petitioner's residence, it was found locked, and nothing incriminating was recovered.
Upon examining the submissions, the High Court concluded that there was no evidence to support the prosecution's case. Justice Rajbir Sehrawat noted that the FIR was registered even before establishing a basis for it, causing unnecessary harassment and expenses for the accused. Hence, the court ordered the person responsible for filing the FIR without any basis to compensate the petitioner with Rs. 10,000 within four weeks.
While granting anticipatory bail to Pushpinder Kumar, the court required him to cooperate with the investigation and abide by the conditions specified under Section 438(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
This ruling serves as a noteworthy example of the judiciary's commitment to ensuring fair treatment and accountability when it comes to filing FIRs and handling criminal cases. The compensation order emphasizes the need for responsible and evidence-based actions by law enforcement agencies to protect innocent individuals from undue hardship and harassment.
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