Bombay HC Orders Rs 10,000 Payout For Illegal Police Search Of Nagpur Womans Bedroom
On July 13, the Bombay High Court ruled that an unauthorized late-night search of a woman’s bedroom and the seizure of her mobile phone by Khapa police in Nagpur was illegal. Justices Urmila Joshi Phalke and Nivedita Mehta declared the action a serious violation of the woman’s fundamental rights to privacy and dignity, ordering the Maharashtra government to pay her Rs 10,000 in compensation.
The petitioners, Khushbu Khan and her husband Iddrish Khan, filed the petition alleging that police officers repeatedly visited their residence in Nagpur during January and February. The visits were part of an investigation into a road accident involving an unidentified driver.
According to the petition, Iddrish Khan was not named in the First Information Report (FIR). Despite this, police officers entered the couple's home without notice, questioned Khushbu in the absence of a female police constable, and confiscated her mobile phone without preparing a seizure panchnama or issuing an official receipt.
The Maharashtra state government denied the allegations, arguing that the police visits were necessary for the road accident investigation. The state maintained that the mobile phone was lawfully seized and sent for forensic examination.
However, after examining the case diary and records, the High Court bench found that the investigating officer had failed to comply with mandatory safeguards under Sections 185 and 105 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The court noted there was no record justifying an urgent search, no seizure panchnama, no independent witnesses, and no electronic recording of the seizure.
"Entry into the residential premises of a citizen, more particularly into the bedroom occupied by a woman, without adherence to the statutory safeguards… constitutes a serious invasion of the petitioner’s privacy and dignity," the bench observed. The court emphasized that the power to conduct a search without a warrant is not unfettered and requires strict compliance.
Holding that the search and seizure violated both the BNSS and Article 21 of the Constitution, the court ordered the return of the mobile phone if it is no longer required for the investigation. The state government must pay the Rs 10,000 compensation within two months, with the liberty to recover the amount from the responsible police officers.
