Taking minor to trace father not part of police duty, says Delhi court
A Delhi court dismissed a plea from four Gujarat Police officers accused of illegally taking a minor boy from Delhi to Gujarat to pressure his father into surrendering. The court criticized the officers for acting like colonial overlords and rejected their claim of official duty protection.
Why it matters
It reinforces legal boundaries regarding police conduct and the protection of minors, setting a precedent that official status does not grant immunity for human rights abuses.
A Delhi court has dismissed a plea by four Gujarat Police officers accused of taking a minor boy from Delhi to Ahmedabad while looking for his father, observing that their official duties did not authorise them to take custody of the child and use him to pressure his father to surrender.
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh, in an August 12 order, said the officers were tasked with tracing the boy’s father, who was wanted in a criminal case, and not with taking the child across State borders.
The court sharply criticised the alleged conduct of the officers, saying they had acted like “colonial overlords” by taking the child and using him as “bait” to compel his father to surrender.
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