Bengaluru apartment complex booked for running parallel justice system

A residents’ welfare association in Bengaluru is under scrutiny for enforcing its own justice system, imposing fines for criminal acts without legal authority.

In a startling case, police have booked the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of an apartment complex in Bengaluru's Doddabele area for allegedly running its own parallel law-and-order system.

Police revealed a troubling partnership between the RWA and private security at the Bengaluru apartment, which enforced these "bylaws" together.

Investigators said the association is accused of drafting unauthorised “bylaws” that gave it sweeping powers to penalise residents involved in alleged criminal acts, ranging from minor altercations to grave offences such as theft, sexual harassment, and even the use or possession of narcotic substances within the complex. These fines were imposed without any legal backing, said the police, according to a report by news agency PTI.

What has deepened the controversy is the alleged role of a private security agency engaged by the apartment complex. According to police, the agency worked hand-in-hand with the RWA to detain and question accused residents, levy penalties, and then let them go, all without alerting the local police station. Authorities believe this informal system allowed offences to be quietly “settled” behind closed gates.

Police said such practices effectively denied justice to victims, buried serious criminal complaints, and helped alleged offenders escape formal investigation and prosecution. No private body has the authority to investigate crimes or decide punishments, an officer familiar with the probe said, adding that any attempt to do so undermines the rule of law.

Based on these findings, an FIR has been filed against the association under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections dealing with failure to inform public servants about offences, destruction or suppression of evidence, and acts committed with common intent, the PTI report noted.

(With inputs from PTI)