Delhi HC dismisses plea to transfer illegal detention inquiry from cop who ‘slapped’ woman

New DelhiThe Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the transfer of a police inquiry into allegations of police excesses against a woman from the supervision of additional deputy commissioner of police (north-east) Sandeep Lamba, on the grounds that videos purportedly showing him slapping a woman during the Cockroach Janta Party march to Parliament on July 20 created a reasonable apprehension of bias

New Delhi

A bench of justice Girish Kathpalia said that transferring the inquiry solely on the basis of videos alleging misconduct would tarnish the officer’s reputation. It said that the officer was entitled to a fair trial and inquiry and even if he was held guilty for slapping, it did not mean that he would be biased in every case. (Representative photo)

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the transfer of a police inquiry into allegations of police excesses against a woman from the supervision of additional deputy commissioner of police (north-east) Sandeep Lamba, on the grounds that videos purportedly showing him slapping a woman during the Cockroach Janta Party march to Parliament on July 20 created a reasonable apprehension of bias.

A bench of justice Girish Kathpalia said that transferring the inquiry solely on the basis of videos alleging misconduct would tarnish the officer’s reputation. It said that the officer was entitled to a fair trial and inquiry and even if he was held guilty for slapping, it did not mean that he would be biased in every case.

The court added that while the right to protest is a fundamental right, it does not extend to damaging the seat of sovereignty.

“Just because he was caught in some video clip allegedly slapping a lady, we cannot tarnish him in black. Are we aware of the ground realities? How the crowd could have entered the Parliament and firing would have started, and so many would have died? The fundamental right to protest is there, but it does not extend to damaging the seat of sovereignty. You were approaching sovereignty and in such a situation, how has he tackled the crowd?” the court said to the petitioner’s lawyer.

It read, “Even if it is a case of overuse of power, that cannot be to tarnish him like this. If I transfer the inquiry on this ground that in some other incident, he is seen slapping somebody, is it not tarnishing? I am holding him guilty. You are precisely casting aspersions. He also has a right to a fair trial and inquiry. I am assuming he is held guilty for slapping, does not mean that in every case he will be biased. Stop discrediting the institution.”

In the present case, the petitioner, a 68-year-old woman, alleged in March 2025 that she was taken from her residence to a police station in Jafarabad and illegally detained throughout the intervening night of March 24 and 25, 2025. A month later, the high court, in another petition filed by the woman, directed an inquiry into her complaint following which the task was assigned to Lamba last year.

However, on July 27, the woman moved the Delhi High Court to transfer the inquiry from Lamba’s administrative control and supervision. In her petition, the woman asserted that the officer, during the pendency of the inquiry, came to be widely reported in media as having slapped a woman in broad daylight while in uniform. These circumstances had shaken her confidence in the officer and raised apprehension of bias.

This came after counsel for the Delhi Police submitted that the inquiry had already been concluded and the woman’s statement had been recorded, leaving nothing further to be adjudicated. The counsel informed the court that upon completion of the inquiry, additional DCP Sandeep Lamba had forwarded the matter to the competent authority for a final decision, which would be communicated to the woman.

Taking note of the statement, the court dismissed the petition as infructuous. “Considering the statement of learned ASC, the present petition is held infructuous, so dismissed.”