The lawyer has alleged that he and his wife were molested and brutally manhandled on two occasions by police officers of the Feroke police station.
On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court issued an interim order cautioning three Kerala police officers against any harassment of a lawyer and his spouse who claimed to have been subjected to assault by these officers.
Advocate Jagadeesh P., a practicing attorney, approached Justice N. Nagaresh seeking police protection. In the interim order, Justice Nagaresh directed the police not to trouble the petitioner, Jagadeesh P., until the resolution of the petition. The judge also specified that the petitioner should be given prior notice if his presence is required in any criminal proceedings. The order stated, “In the circumstances of this case, respondents 8 to 10 (police personnel in Feroke, Kozhikode) will be instructed not to pester the petitioner until the writ petition is disposed of. Any requirement for the petitioner’s presence in connection with an offense should only be ensured after adequate notice.”
Advocate Jagadeesh alleged that he and his wife were subjected to sexual assault and mistreatment on two separate occasions by Feroke police officers. According to him, the first incident occurred on October 1 after he met with a client around 9:30 p.m. He claimed to have met and conversed with his client while riding in his wife’s vehicle. Furthermore, he asserted that the client’s relatives, consisting of the mother and two brothers, suddenly approached the vehicle, assaulted and molested his wife, and took over the driver’s seat. After a heated argument with the client’s relatives, they, meaning the petitioner and his wife, left with the client.
However, after parking the vehicle on a public road near the Ramanattukara Post Office to continue the conversation with the client, the police arrived, alleging an attempt to incite a public disturbance on the road. Additionally, the attorney claimed that the police officers mistreated him and his wife, manhandling them in public and continuing the mistreatment until they were transported to the Feroke Police Station in a police vehicle.
Subsequently, he received parole from the magistrate court and was admitted to Starcare Hospital in Kozhikode for an angioplasty to address a heart condition. The complaint also noted that the second incident occurred on October 9, again at the hands of the same police officers who had allegedly mistreated the attorney and his wife on October 1. On this alleged date as well, the attorney asserted that the police officers subjected him to unjustified mistreatment.
In light of these distressing incidents, the attorney sought protection from the police officers by petitioning the High Court. On Wednesday, October 20th, the High Court accepted the plea and sought a response from the police officers implicated in the allegations.
Advocate Praveen Harikumar represented the petitioner in front of the High Court.
