Preventive Custody Cannot Become Punitive Imprisonment: Allahabad HC Grants Compensation for Illegal Detention

The Allahabad High Court has held that a man who was kept in preventive custody for eight days under Sections 170, 126 and 135 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was illegally detained and is entitled to ₹2 lakh compensation. The Court also expressed serious concern over the manner in which preventive detention powers are being exercised in Uttar Pradesh's police commissionerates, observing that thousands of individuals have been sent to jail under preventive proceedings and kept in custody for days or weeks contrary to statutory safeguards.

A Division Bench of Justices Siddharth and Vinai Kumar Dwivedi was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Mansoor Ahmad alias Lallu, who alleged that he was taken from his home by police personnel and subsequently detained without adherence to the procedure prescribed under the BNSS. After examining the record, the Court found that the authorities had failed to justify his continued incarceration and that the statutory provisions governing preventive proceedings had been “flagrantly violated”.

The Court noted that the Assistant Commissioner of Police had sent the petitioner directly to jail on March 19, 2026 and fixed the next date of appearance eight days later, without recording any refusal on his part to execute a personal bond. According to the Bench, if the petitioner had not furnished a bond on the date of production, he ought to have been given a prompt opportunity to do so rather than being subjected to prolonged custody.

While granting compensation, the Court also examined data placed before it regarding preventive detentions in Prayagraj and Ghaziabad. The figures revealed that thousands of persons had been detained under preventive provisions during the past two years, with many remaining in custody for periods extending well beyond a single day. Describing the situation as a “shocking state of affairs”, the Bench observed that powers entrusted to police commissioners exercising magisterial functions cannot be used in a manner that results in routine and prolonged deprivation of personal liberty.

The State Government has been directed to pay the compensation within six weeks and recover the amount from the concerned Assistant Commissioner of Police after conducting disciplinary proceedings. The Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, has also been directed to file a compliance report before the High Court.