The four cops, against whom the High Court framed contempt of court charges, urged the Bench to consider the fact that punishing them would impact their 10 to 15 years of service to the State Police.
In the case of Jahirmiya Rehamumiya Malek v. State of Gujarat, four officers facing contempt of court charges in the Gujarat High Court have urged the court to consider compensating the five Muslim men they publicly flogged in October of the previous year instead of imposing punishment.
The officers, namely AV Parmar, DB Kumavar, Kanaksingh Laxman Singh, and Raju Ramsinghbhai Dabhi, made this appeal through Senior Advocate Prakash Jani before the Bench of Justices AS Supehia and Gita Gopi. They asked the court to take into account their years of service in the State Police, which range from 10 to 15 years.
They expressed concern about the potential impact on their service records if the court finds them guilty and requested compensation for the complainants instead. The court has asked for a response from the complainant or the victims of the incident and scheduled further proceedings for Monday, October 16.
The incident involved the physical assault of the five victims by officers from the Matar Police Station in the Kheda district. The victims were accused of throwing stones at a gathering during a Navratri celebration in Undhela village, and videos of the incident circulated on social media.
Family members of the victims filed a petition with the High Court, seeking contempt of court action against the police officers for violating the Supreme Court’s guidelines established in the case of DK Basu v. State of West Bengal, which mandated adherence to proper arrest procedures. These petitions were presented by Senior Counsel IH Syed, and the High Court had sought a response from the state regarding the case in October of the previous year.
In response to the petition, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Gadhiya asserted that the Muslim men, along with 159 others from their community, had conspired to disrupt a Garba event in order to create fear among the Hindu community. He stated that the petitioners were subjected to beatings in an effort to maintain peace within the neighborhood.
To ascertain the roles of each of the 14 police officers involved in the incident, the High Court instructed the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of the Nadia district to analyze the viral videos and images on social media.
According to a report subsequently submitted by CJM Chitra Ratnoo to the High Court, the video footage and images of the incident were unclear, making it challenging to identify all 14 officers seen in the clips, with only four officers being identifiable. The victims were also unable to recognize all the involved police officers, leading to the initiation of proceedings against the four identified officers by the High Court.
