Kerala HC criticizes the State for covering up a Police Officer’s mistake

Shivani Gadhavi-

Published on: December 07, 2021 at 16:10 IST

The Kerala High Court on December 7th, 2021 questioned the Kerala Government regarding its intentions to compensate a father-daughter duo who were falsely accused of theft by a police officer, which would make the 8-year-old girl restore her confidence in humanity and police.

The High Court was hearing a plea of the father for compensation and stringent action being taken against the police officer. The Pink Police Force apologized to the court and the victims, but the Court left it to the father’s discretion regarding the apology, who did not accept the apology.

The incident pertains to an officer of the Pink Police Force who falsely accused a father and his daughter of stealing her phone in a public gathering. The Police left as soon as the officer’s phone was found in a police car. The sudden accusation made the little girl scared and frightened.

The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Devan Ramachadran stated, “The visuals of the crying child were really moving. May be the officer did not intend to hurt her, but the court wants to see how the state has taken note of this. What does the state propose to do for the child to restore her confidence in humanity and police?” 

The Judge rebuked and criticized the argument of the Public Prosecutor who accused the girl for crying when she was surrounded by more people to ridicule the officer. The Judge stated, “If this girl does not get justice from this court, where is she going to get it from? She has gone knocking at every commission before coming here.”

The High Court directed the State to submit a ‘detailed reply’ during the next hearing on December 15th, 2021.

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