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Anita Thakur and Ors. v. Govt. of J&K and Ors.

Writ Petition (Criminal) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 118 of 2007)Decided 12 Aug 2016
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 118 of 2007
Justice A.K. Sikri · Justice R.K. Agrawal

Background

The petitioners were Jammu migrants and activists who, on 7.8.2007, planned a peaceful protest march toward Delhi to highlight the plight of around 2,200 migrant families displaced by terrorist attacks between 1996-1999. Near Katra in Jammu & Kashmir, police personnel allegedly beat and manhandled the protesters, including a journalist covering the event, in a brutal manner. The petitioners approached the Supreme Court directly under Article 32, alleging violation of their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22, and seeking compensation and a special investigation.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that while the protest had turned unruly at the outset, with protesters pelting stones, the police had crossed the line by continuing to use force well after the crowd had already been brought under control, including continuing to beat the petitioners even after they were overpowered and immobile. Relying on precedents including Nilabati Behera vs. State of Orissa, the Court reaffirmed that police excess causing a clear violation of fundamental rights gives rise to public-law liability, for which the State (not individual officers) is accountable, and that compensation can be awarded directly under Article 32 for patent and incontrovertible rights violations. Balancing the petitioners' own initial role in the violence against the police's subsequent excess, the Court awarded Rs. 2,00,000 to the lead petitioner and Rs. 1,00,000 each to the other two, to be paid within two months, and disposed of the writ petition on those terms.

Lesson Learnt

Even when a protest turns disorderly, the police are not permitted to use force beyond what is needed to control the situation, continuing to beat protesters after they are already subdued is a violation of fundamental rights for which the State can be made to pay compensation directly.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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