Bombay High Court Fines Wada Police SHO Rs 25000 For Denying Complaint Copies

On June 26, the Bombay High Court in Mumbai imposed a personal cost of Rs 25,000 on the Station House Officer (SHO) of Wada Police Station in Palghar district for refusing to provide copies of complaints to accused individuals. The court ordered the officer to supply the requested documents to the petitioners within five working days.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad passed the order while hearing a petition filed by individuals against whom an offence had been registered at the Wada Police Station. The court directed the SHO, Police Inspector Dattatray Kidre, to deposit the Rs 25,000 fine from his personal salary account with the High Court within 15 days.

The petitioners told the court that although they had appeared before the police after receiving notices, the SHO refused to provide them with copies of the complaints lodged against them. When they sought the copies, Police Inspector Kidre accused them of "time killing" and declined their request.

The petitioners also submitted that they had previously faced a similar situation in an Economic Offences Wing case in Palghar, where they only received copies of the complaints after strenuous efforts through their advocate. During the hearing, the State's counsel was unable to explain why the copies were not supplied in the present case.

Expressing serious concern over the conduct of the police, the bench noted that it has been receiving several petitions seeking directions to police authorities to supply copies of complaints. The court observed that officers continue to refuse such requests just for the sake of refusing them, compelling petitioners to knock on the doors of the court and spend money on litigation.

The High Court bench stated that in circumstances where copies of complaints are legally required to be supplied but are withheld, it is appropriate to impose personal costs on the responsible SHO.