BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each on Sunil Balasaheb Patil, inspector of Malmaruti police station and a rehabilitation centre for forcefully keeping a 22-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter at the centre for five months.
The verdict was delivered by Justice NS Sanjay Gowda who said that the act of holding the woman and her daughter captive was a case of imprisoning both the mind and body of the duo.
The court also expressed its displeasure that the act of the policeman amounts to moral policing and said that a police inspector cannot intervene in the married life of a person. The shelter— where victims of human trafficking and sexual assault are kept--— was also fined Rs 1 lakh. “The shelter acted with an unseemly enthusiasm to comply with the illegal request of the inspector and forcibly held the woman despite her repeated requests to be released...,” the court noted.
The court has ordered the registry to deposit the fine amount in the name of the girl and the petitioner (the mother) can withdraw the interest. The court said that it is not for the police to barge into a marital relationship that was full of discord and impose its sense of justice.