LI Network
Published on: 7 September 2023 at 10:43 IST
The Calcutta High Court has strongly criticized the behavior of police officers from the Lake Gardens and Narendrapur Police Station in a suo moto motion related to a gang rape case, particularly condemning their midnight calls and visits to the victim.
The division-bench, consisting of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Gaurang Kanth, expressed its disapproval and stated:
“This Court has never come across a case where in the name of ‘investigation’ or ‘interest of justice’ as the deponents would persuade us to believe midnight knocks or Whatsapp calls are made to female victims of crime particularly that of sexual assault… Right to privacy and dignity of every individual particularly a victim of sexual assault is the cornerstone of a civilized society.
The Investigating Agency which is duty-bound to preserve, protect and champion the fundamental right of privacy of the victim appears to have encroached upon it themselves. This factual background shows a brazen disregard for the rule of law, privacy, and dignity of a victim of sexual offense.”
The suo moto action was initiated during a bail application hearing for one of the co-accused in the gang rape case. It came to light that during the trial, the victim had informed the Trial judge that Vishal Periwal, present in the Trial Court, had tried to influence her to drop the case.
Although the Trial judge ordered Periwal’s custody and a criminal case was registered against him, the police released him from custody after serving notice under section 41A of the CrPC, granting him bail for reasons unknown.
The Court also found that during the investigation, an email was sent to Narendrapur Police Station to inform the victim to appear before the Magistrate on May 5 for her statement. However, this intimation was not communicated to the victim until the midnight between July 4th and 5th, 2023, raising concerns about the delay in notifying her.
The Court criticized the police officers’ conduct and questioned why they didn’t directly contact the victim when they had her phone number but instead sent an email to Narendrapur Police Station.
While the Court considered imposing heavy penalties on the police personnel involved in the investigation, the survivor’s advocate informed the court that she did not wish to pursue the matter further. As a result, the Court ordered the Officers-in-charge of the Lake and Narendrapur Police Stations to personally pay a nominal compensation of Rs 5,000 each to the victim.
The Court also emphasized that police officers should refrain from taking measures like midnight calls and visits unless there are extremely compelling circumstances related to the protection of the victim’s life and safety, as such actions violate the fundamental right to privacy and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.