NHRC severely indicts UP police in love marriage case

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has severely indicted the UP Police for illegal proceedings in a case of love marriage resulting in grave violation of human rights of a newlywed couple in district Balrampur. This included wrongful detention, custodial rape, false implication and delay in initiating criminal proceedings against the accused Sub Inspector.

Accordingly, the NHRC has issued a notice to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, through its Chief Secretary, to show cause why the victim woman, her husband and father-in-law should not be recommended to be paid Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh respectively as monetary relief in the case.

The Chief Secretary has been given 3 months time to respond to submit his reply along with specific action taken on obtaining legal opinion from the Advocate General, UP, about the maintainability of the chargesheet filed in the case (FIR No. 348/2014, PS Lalia, District Balrampur).  If the Advocate General is of the opinion that the chargesheet had been wrongly filed in the case, the State shall immediately take steps to withdraw the charge -sheet from the trial court following the due legal process.

The case FIR No.432/2014, PS Lalia, against the accused Sub Inspector  shall be taken up for further investigation after obtaining necessary permission from the competent court and the investigation of the case shall be entrusted to the State Crime Branch or CB CID.  Further the investigation of case shall be conducted by an officer not below the rank of DSP, the NHRC said.

A detailed fact finding inquiry into this entire episode shall be conducted by an officer not below the rank of DIG to bring out the acts of omission and commission of police officers of various levels of District Balrampur including that of the officers at the Police station level, at the first supervisory level and at the level of Additional SP and SP and suitable action will be initiated against each and every officer whose conduct is found wrong, it said.

During the course of inquiry, the Commission found that a young man and a girl from Balrampur district had eloped and got married in Mumbai.  The girl’s father lodged a complaint of kidnapping with police in the matter, following which, the newlywed couple was called to Mathura police post of Balrampur district.

However, instead of taking a proper legal recourse in the mater, both of them were detained in separate cells at the police post on August 12-13, 2014.  The Sub Inspector allegedly subjected the girl to sexual assault.  When the girl complained about her sexual assault by the Sub Inspector, no prompt action was taken in the matter.

The police continued to pursue the case of underage marriage of the couple despite a City Court having held both of them major and allowing the girl to live with her husband as per her wish. Not only this, the police, subsequently, charged her husband with rape by adding section 376 to the main case file and also falsely implicated her father-in-law.  She was also coerced to retract her allegations under pressure of another FIR having been registered on charges of rape against her supporters, according to an NHRC release.  

The Commission also found that in response to its notices, the Superintendent of Police, Balrampur, had failed to give a clear chain of incidents having unity of time, action and place involving the couple’s marriage and action taken on another FIR registered by the girl alleging sexual assault by a Sub Inspector.