In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of India has convicted a Gujarat police inspector and a Surat Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate for contempt of court. The case involves the wrongful arrest and detention of an individual in defiance of a Supreme Court order granting anticipatory bail.
On Wednesday, Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta directed that the accused, Police Inspector RY Raval and Magistrate Deepaben Sanjaykumar Thakar, appear before the court on September 2 to determine their punishment.
The controversy began when the accused sought action against state officials for arresting and remanding him despite his anticipatory bail granted in December 2023. The petitioner claimed he was physically assaulted and extorted for ₹1.6 crore by Surat police.
The Supreme Court emphasized that its December 2023 order was unequivocal in providing protection until any change was officially made. The Bench criticized the actions of the police and the magistrate for violating this clear directive. They noted that any need for police custody should have been addressed directly with the Supreme Court rather than through the contested remand.
The court highlighted the need for judicial oversight in remand decisions, particularly in civil disputes, and condemned the practice of using remand applications to extract confessions. The court also stressed that confessions obtained through coercion or undue pressure are inadmissible in evidence.
The Gujarat High Court had previously denied anticipatory bail following the magistrate’s remand order, prompting the appeal and contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court. The Gujarat government had suspended the officials involved after the Supreme Court’s intervention.
Representatives from the Gujarat government and the accused’s legal team presented their cases during the proceedings, with senior advocates involved from both sides.
