The Karnataka High Court recently ruled that arresting officers must carefully verify the identity of a person before making an arrest, whether the warrant is bailable or non-bailable. If an officer fails to do so, it can lead to serious violations of fundamental rights.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj, in a single-judge bench, ordered the State government to pay ₹5 lakh as compensation to Ningaraju N, who was wrongfully arrested due to identity confusion.
The Court explained that Ningaraju was arrested just because his father’s name matched the father’s name of the actual person named in the warrant. The judge remarked, “If this logic is applied, even a brother or sister could be arrested based on a shared father’s name. The most important factor should always be the correct identity of the person being arrested.”
The Court strongly stated that such an arrest violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Arresting someone without legal authority causes loss of liberty and damage to their reputation.
Because of this violation, the Court decided that the State must compensate the wrongly arrested person with ₹5,00,000. This amount must be paid within eight weeks, and the State can recover the amount from the police officers responsible for the arrest.
Additionally, the Court directed the Director General of Police to check whether there are any guidelines or SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) regarding arrest verification. If such procedures already exist, all arresting officers should be trained in them. If not, new guidelines should be issued within four weeks, to ensure identity verification before making any arrest.
Case Title: Ningaraju N v. Official Liquidator of M/s India Holiday (Pvt) Ltd.
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