Delhi court orders FIR against trainee IPS officer for assault

The complainant, Vikas Dhayal, sustained multiple head injuries during the assault in December 2024 and was treated at a Gurugram hospital.

A Delhi court has directed registration of a criminal case against a trainee Indian Police Service (IPS) officer for assaulting a man during an event in Kapashera in December last year.

Representational image.

In an order passed last week, judicial magistrate first class Nidhish Kumar Meena of Dwarka court directed the Delhi Police to lodge a first information report against Rahul Balhara, a 2023-batch IPS officer currently posted in Tripura. Balhara was accused of assaulting the man with a glass bottle along with his associates.

The city court passed the order on May 3 on an application moved by the victim who is a UPSC coach, seeking registration of the case against Balhara.

The court found that “prima facie, cognisable” offences have been committed by the officer and his associates and an investigation in the matter was necessary as the complainant would not be able to collect all the evidence pertaining to the accusations against the accused men for assaulting him.

The court directed the station house officer (SHO) of Kapashera police station to carry out the order and register FIR under the relevant sections against Rahul Balhara, Ashwini Balhara, Vivek Chaudhary, Kallu, among others and file a copy of the FIR in court within two days showing compliance.

On Monday, the SHO of Kapashera Police Station sought a passover of the matter before the court, citing a sanction required in the matter from the Delhi Police Commissioner before which an FIR could not be filed. The officer submitted that the sanction was required as Balhara is a public servant.

However, the court noted that the officer had furnished no document to show that he had sought a sanction from the commissioner and sought a reply from the deputy commissioner of police (southwest), on whether any such request has been made. The matter has been put up for May 15.

The incident took place on December 6, 2024, when Vikas Dhayal, a UPSC coach residing in Rajendra Nagar, was attending a ceremony at Kapashera. Soon after, the accused, trainee IPS officer Rahul Balhara started arguing with one of Dhayal’s friends over an issue which eventually snowballed into a physical scuffle.

Balhara subsequently took a glass bottle and smashed it on Dhayal’s head in a fit of rage. Dhayal suffered multiple injuries on his head and was rushed by his friends to the nearest hospital in Gurugram.

In his application, Dhayal alleged that after being discharged, when he approached the police to file a complaint, the officers of Kapashera police station pressurised him to take back the complaint as the accused was an IPS officer.

They registered a non-cognisable report after Dhayal posted the CCTV footage of the incident online.

The court said, “At this stage, I am of the considered view that prima facie cognizable offences have been committed by the alleged accused persons...further, the allegations are also serious as the injury has been caused on the vital part of the body i.e., head and the interest of justice demands that thorough investigation be conducted to unearth the truth of the facts and circumstances of the case”.