The Indian Express ·
Slamming DM’s ‘cut-and-paste’ orders, Patna High Court orders State to pay Rs 1 lakh each to 2 men
The petitioners said they had been falsely implicated in criminal cases, were on bail and were prepared to face trial.
The Patna High Court has set aside orders restricting the movement of two Nalanda residents under the Bihar Crime Control Act, 2024, holding that the District Magistrate had proceeded on a “general and stereotype” basis without recording the satisfaction required under the law.
A division bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Sunil Dutta Mishra also directed the Bihar government to pay Rs 1 lakh each to Shashi Kumar alias Fukan and Ajay Singh, besides Rs 10,000 each towards litigation costs. The court further directed the state to recover the compensation and costs from the officials found responsible, after giving them an opportunity of hearing.
The judgment, delivered on September 11 and made public on Tuesday, arose from proceedings initiated against the two men after the Nalanda Superintendent of Police, acting on a proposal submitted by the Rajgir SDPO, recommended proceedings against them, and the police authorities described them as “anti-social elements”.
