The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the Uttar Pradesh government for an illegal arrest, observing that the amount may be recovered from the erring officials. A division bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava passed the order while allowing a habeas corpus petition filed by Manoj Kumar, who was arrested on January 27, 2026, in connection with a case registered at Asiwan police station in Unnao district.
Violation of Constitutional Rights
The court expressed displeasure over the affidavit filed by the additional chief secretary (home), noting that it failed to explain why heavy cost should not be imposed for keeping the petitioner in illegal custody for over three months. The petitioner contended that he was not informed of the grounds of arrest, which violated Articles 21 and 22(1) of the Constitution of India.
Supreme Court Precedents Cited
Relying on Supreme Court rulings in Mihir Rajesh Shah vs State of Maharashtra and Dr Rajinder Rajan vs Union of India, the High Court held that communicating the grounds of arrest in writing is a mandatory constitutional requirement. Merely mentioning the case crime number is not sufficient. The bench found serious procedural lapses in the arrest and held that the remand order passed by the magistrate, being based on an illegal arrest, was also liable to be set aside.
Grave Violation of Personal Liberty
Observing that the petitioner had been illegally incarcerated for more than three months, the court termed it a grave violation of personal liberty. It directed that the petitioner be released forthwith, if not wanted in any other case. The court also noted that the cost imposed may be recovered from the erring officials responsible for the illegal arrest.
