Delhi court sets aside order to lodge FIR against cop, doctor in custodial torture case

Hindustan Times

21-05-2025

A Delhi court on Tuesday set aside prosecution proceedings against a Delhi Police Inspector and a resident doctor of a government hospital in a case of alleged custodial torture of an undertrial and the subsequent cover-up.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Kiran Gupta of Patiala House Court passed a nine-page order on Tuesday, setting aside a Magistrate's order in April, which directed lodging of an FIR against Inspector Sumit Kumar, posted with the IGI Airport Police Station, and Dr. Aman Gehlot, a resident doctor with the Indira Gandhi Hospital here in the city.
The order read, 'The Magistrate without considering the enquiry report and report from the Medical Board as ordered by him, passed the order for lodging of FIR against the petitioner, considering the submissions made by R-2 (accused) as gospel truth. The Magistrate...without analysing the age and nature of the injuries has ordered registration of FIR'.
The matter related to one Nishit Patel, who was arrested by the Delhi Police on April 4 from Kathmandu, Nepal, on charges of forging his passport to travel to Portugal and the United Kingdom. The next day, Patel was produced before the magistrate's court, where he alleged that he had been physically tortured in police custody.
Earlier, the Magistrate, in an order passed on April 8, observed that the Inspector was involved in allegedly causing injuries to the accused while he was in custody and the doctor, who prepared the Medico-Legal Report (MLC), willfully ignored the injuries sustained by him and prepared a false report.
The court had ordered an FIR against both the persons within 24 hours and also directed a probe in the involvement of other officials. The Inspector had subsequently moved a revision plea before the Sessions court on which the present order was passed.
ASJ Kiran Gupta observed that no offence was made out against the Inspector as neither the CCTV footage showed the officer assaulting the accused nor the accused said that he was beaten by the Inspector while in custody.
The court further noted that as per the accused's own statement to police, the injuries sustained by him were from a scuffle with a person two days before his arrest.
The judge also observed that while the medical report did not clarify the age of the injuries sustained by the accused, the latter refused to be medically examined before a board of doctors from AIIMS.
An AIIMS report filed by jail authorities confirmed the injuries sustained by Patel on his foot, arms and shoulders. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Pranav Joshi had noted that this was in contrast with the MLC conducted earlier which showed no injuries to Patel and was simply 'an eyewash'.
The court had observed, '...not only have the police officials abused the authority vested in them by law, they have also committed a cognisable offence.
The judge ordered the FIR to be lodged against the inspector and the doctor under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 119 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort property, or constrain to an illegal to an act) and 126 (wrongful restraint).
The court added Section 256 of BNS (public servant framing incorrect record or writing) against Gehlot, and directed the Delhi Medical Council to conduct a separate inquiry against him.