The Allahabad High Court has directed the Superintendent of Police, Unnao to conduct an inquiry into allegations of illegal detention and theft of jewellery worth Rs 14 lakh, Rs 35,000 in cash, two mobile phones and approximately 15 cartridges from a person at Police Station Hasanganj in Unnao district. The bench comprising Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Babita Rani passed the order last week while hearing a criminal writ petition filed by the petitioner alleging illegal detention from July 27 to July 30, 2026, without initiation of any prosecution against him.
The petitioner further alleged that police personnel and the opposite party number 7 looted the said jewellery, cash, mobile phones and cartridges during the period of detention. The petitioner sought relief including preservation of CCTV footage of the police station for the said period and its production before the Court. The bench, after taking into account the allegations and prayers in the petition, recorded that the matter required consideration and accordingly issued notice to opposite parties numbers 6 and 7, granting the State three weeks' time to file a counter-affidavit.
In the interim, the Court directed the Superintendent of Police, Unnao to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made in the petition. The SP was specifically directed to examine the CCTV footage of Police Station Hasanganj for the period from July 27 to July 30, 2026, preserve the footage and produce it before the High Court along with the inquiry report. The Court further directed that in case any incriminating material is found against any police personnel, appropriate action shall be taken against such erring police personnel by the Superintendent of Police, Unnao.
The counter-affidavit is required to be accompanied by the affidavit of the Superintendent of Police, Unnao. The matter has been ordered to be listed thereafter for further proceedings. Counsel for the petitioner appeared as O.P. Tiwari, Beer Prakash, Pavan Kumar and Sunil Kumar Bajpai, while counsel for the respondent appeared as G.A. The case title is Ram Kumar vs. State of U.P. Through Secretary Home Department Lucknow and Others.
The order passed by the bench underscores the necessity of preserving electronic evidence in allegations of custodial misconduct and directs a time-bound inquiry by a senior police officer to ascertain the veracity of the claims made by the petitioner. The direction to preserve CCTV footage and produce it before the Court reflects the judicial emphasis on transparency and accountability in police functioning.
The Court did not pass any final finding on the merits of the allegations at this stage, limiting its order to procedural directions aimed at securing evidence and initiating an inquiry. The matter remains pending before the Court for further hearing after the counter-affidavit and inquiry report are filed.