12 yrs after man shot by cop, HC orders Rs 15-lakh relief to mother

Nearly 12 years after a 22-year-old man was shot by a Punjab Police official, the High Court here awarded Rs 15 lakh compensation to his mother.

The court held that “allowing the act of the erring cop to go unchecked would amount to validating a death sentence, passed not in line with the due process of law, but by the law enforcement agency donning the role of the judge, jury and executioner”.

The direction came as Justice Harpreet Singh Brar admonished the police for not just resorting to the use of excessive force, but also attempting to shield the erring officials. The Bench noted that Arvinder Pal Singh, alias Lovely, a proclaimed offender in two of the nine criminal cases registered against him, was shot from a “very small, perhaps point-blank distance” by a police official.

The Bench took note of the fact that the bullet pierced through the deceased’s arm and entered his chest, rupturing the left lung. “It is rather curious as to why, if it was at all required, did respondent police official not aim for the legs of the deceased,” Justice Brar observed.

The Bench was also critical of the changing versions of the police regarding the location of the incident.

Justice Brar also expressed serious reservations about the police conduct following the incident. The court observed that there was no indication that the so-called secret information regarding the deceased’s whereabouts was reduced to writing.

“Further, an FIR was registered against the erring police officials only due to the intervention of this court after a petition was filed by the petitioner-mother of the deceased. However, the intention of the police authorities to shield their colleagues is rather conspicuous.”

Justice Brar observed that the FIR was registered for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC, “while it clearly should have been done under Section 302 of the IPC (murder)”.

Justice Brar also directed the state to pay Rs 15 lakh compensation within eight weeks.

Punjab