Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Oct 24: The Bombay High Court has declared the 2017 arrest of Malabar Hill businessman Bipin Agrwal illegal, holding that a police sub-inspector acted in collusion with a developer to falsely implicate him in an extortion case.
Directing the Maharashtra government to pay Agrwal Rs 5 lakh as compensation within two weeks, the High Court also ordered strict action against the police officers involved, including suspension if warranted. The court specifically named Inspector Mahesh Lamkhade of Azad Maidan police station in its directions.
The court further directed the High Court registry to place the judgment before its administrative committee for appropriate action against the 64th Metropolitan Magistrate, who had authorised and continued Agrwal’s custody without recording reasons.
“Police have attempted to characterise the petitioner as a gangster, history-sheeter or an extortionist without any iota of evidence,” observed a bench of Justices Kamal Khata and A S Gadkari while hearing Agrwal’s writ petition.
The High Court found that the police had failed to establish why the cash involved in the case was paid or investigate whether it represented an advance towards a contractual transaction.
The bench pointed to serious discrepancies in police records, including overwriting in the arrest form, contradictory station diary entries, missing details regarding the grounds of arrest and the alleged suppression of a forensic report.
It held that Agrwal’s arrest and subsequent remand were arbitrary and high-handed, and had been carried out without proper application of mind or compliance with statutory safeguards.
The court also noted that the offence of extortion under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code carried a maximum punishment of three years. However, the police had failed to demonstrate why Agrwal’s arrest was necessary.
The bench further observed that the notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure was served only after the arrest, denying Agrwal a genuine opportunity to comply with it.
Holding that the magistrate had failed to independently apply judicial mind while authorising continued remand, the High Court acknowledged that the unlawful arrest had caused Agrwal substantial financial losses and irreparable damage to his reputation.
The court also disposed of a connected criminal application filed by Seth and Sonal Developers, observing that it no longer survived following the disposal of Agrwal’s writ petition.