Top cop to face criminal prosecution

Making this observation on Monday, the Supreme Court of India paved the way to initiate criminal proceedings against acting Director General of Police A.N. Roy, reports HT Correspondent.

A director general of police is not above the law.

HT Image

Making this observation on Monday, the Supreme Court of India paved the way to initiate criminal proceedings against acting Director General of Police A.N. Roy.

It was in connection with alleged issuance of detention orders without checking authenticity of documents produced before the state top police. Roy was Mumbai’s commissioner of police in December 2005 when he ordered Awasti’s detention.

In December 2008, the Bandra Metropolitan Court directed the Vakola police station to register a first information report against Roy and seven policemen.

This was based on a complaint filed by activist Raj Awasti who alleged that Roy had issued orders for his (Awasti’s) detention based on unauthentic documents. Awasti had been detained under the Maharashtra Prevention of Slum Lords Act.

The Bombay High Court stayed the magistrate court’s order. Awasti approached the Supreme Court, which quashed the high court’s order and upheld the magistrate court’s order. The apex court also dismissed Roy’s plea in which he had stated that he was a senior police officer and could not be involved in such an offence and the allegations against him were false.

Awasti said that when he filed applications under the Right to Information Act, he found that some documents on the basis of which the order had been issued never existed. He said the RTI replies had revealed that complaints had been ‘fabricated’ as they did not have inward entry of documents at the police stations.