Delhi court stays FIR direction against police officers in illegal detention plea
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has stayed the execution of a magistrate's order directing registration of an FIR against police officers over allegations of illegal detention and custodial assault after the station house officer (SHO) of Adarsh Nagar police station challenged the direction in revision.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana on Thursday stayed the operation of the January 14 order passed by a judicial magistrate, which had asked the SHO concerned to register an FIR on a complaint by a widow alleging illegal detention and grievous injuries to her son by Special Staff officials.
The sessions court passed the stay on January 21 after hearing submissions from counsel for the revisionist SHO, observing that the execution of the impugned order would remain stayed till the next date of hearing. The court also issued notice to the respondents and summoned the trial court record, listing the matter for March 11.
Earlier, on January 14, Judicial Magistrate Garima Jindal had allowed an application filed under provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), holding that a prima facie cognisable offence was made out and directing the SHO to register an FIR and conduct a fair investigation.
The magistrate's order was based on allegations that the complainant's son was illegally picked up by Special Staff officials in November 2024, detained for nearly two days, assaulted and released only after he suffered a fracture. The complainant had alleged that police officers demanded illegal gratification for his release and that local police refused to entertain her complaint.
While the police, in their status report, denied allegations of illegal detention and assault, the magistrate noted that they were duty-bound to register an FIR when cognisable offences were disclosed and directed compliance within seven days.
SHO Love Atrey and Constable Ankush subsequently moved the sessions court challenging the order with two separate revision pleas, leading to the stay granted on Thursday.
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Reports on CM Naidu’s VB-G RAM G Act concerns significant: Siddaramaiah
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said reports of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu flagging concerns over the VB-G RAM G Act’s funding pattern are politically significant and have implications for Centre-State relations.
These concerns assumed importance as they come from a key ally of the BJP whose support is critical to the Narendra Modi government, he said.
Sharing a news article titled "Naidu seeks assistance to state for enforcing new rural jobs law" on his official handle on 'X', Siddaramaiah said the VB-G RAM G Act must be repealed and the MGNREGA Act restored, with necessary reforms.
"The reports that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu has raised concerns with the Union Government over the implementation of the VB-G RAM G Act - especially regarding the altered funding pattern and the additional burden on states - are politically significant and consequential for Centre–State relations," he said.
Siddaramaiah claimed that for months, the Congress party and opposition-ruled states, including Karnataka, have warned that the VB-G RAM G Act undermines cooperative federalism by shifting financial responsibility onto states.
"A BJP ally now echoing these concerns exposes a clear rupture within the NDA and undermines the BJP’s defence of the law," he said.
Siddaramaiah demanded that the union government and the BJP explain why the same objections were earlier dismissed as political criticism, saying the contrast between the two laws is clear.
He highlighted that under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), rural employment was a legal right backed by assured central funding.
"Under the new Act, that certainty is lost. States are required to implement the programme while sharing the cost, without any statutory guarantee of funds. What was once a guaranteed right of the people has been reduced to a matter of negotiation," the Karanataka CM alleged.
He further alleged that this shift has serious implications, saying when a CM is compelled to seek “alternative financial support” through private discussions, it signals that access to funds is being determined by bargaining power rather than by law.
"In the present political context, this raises the risk that allocations may be influenced by political alignment, adversely affecting Opposition-ruled states, including Karnataka," he said.
Siddaramaiah said if NDA partners, especially the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, find the new framework unsustainable, these concerns must be raised openly in Parliament. They cannot be addressed through selective concessions or private assurances.
"The developments reported today make it clear that the VB-G RAM G Act must be repealed and the MGNREGA Act restored, with necessary reforms. Employment security cannot be converted into a negotiable arrangement. Cooperative federalism must be sustained through guaranteed funding and equal treatment of all states - not through uncertainty and coalition arithmetic," he added.
