Allahabad High Court. File
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Allowing bail to a theft accused who was shot on leg by the Uttar Pradesh police during an ‘encounter’, the Allahabad High Court on Friday (January 30, 2026) said that such an act is not permissible in the eyes of law as the power of punishment to accused lies is within the domain of judiciary and not in the domain of police.
Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal also criticised the U.P. police for using firearms on accused persons and noted that the practice of police encounters, particularly firing at the legs of accused persons, has seemingly become a routine feature, ostensibly to please superior officers or to teach the accused a so-called lesson by way of punishment.
“This Court came across in several cases which prima facie shows that some police officers, who are part of the police team involved in a police encounter, just to get out of turn promotion or appreciation from the higher authority or to get fame in social media unnecessarily used fire arm and caused fire arm injury on the leg of the accused just below the knee. Such an act is not permissible in the eyes of law as the power of punishment to accused is within the domain of judiciary and not in the domain of the police,” court said.
It added that in the garb of appreciation or for other extraneous purposes, police officers cannot be allowed to take the function of the judiciary to punish a criminal by unnecessary firing and causing injuries even on non-vital part.
The observations were made when Sanjay Prasad, Additional Home Secretary, U.P. and Rajeev Krishna, DGP, U.P., were participating in the bail hearing of the accused Raju alias Rajkumar, who was arrested for theft by Mirzapur police. The officials submitted before the court that repeated circulars were issued to police chiefs across the state to comply with the guidelines set by the Supreme Court in case of encounter, but failed to dispute the fact that the directions of the Apex Court are not being substantially complied with by several police officers. They also assured the Court that fresh instructions would be issued, and erring officers dealt with strictly.
Keeping in mind the previous guidelines set by SC in case of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs. State of Maharashtra (2014), the HC also issues fresh guidelines for the U.P. police, which need to be mandatorily followed in cases of encounter.
The guidelines include registration of FIR immediately if there is a death or injury during an encounter, also a medical aide must be provided to the injured person, and his statement must be recorded before the magistrate within the deadline.
The court added that any out-of-turn promotion or gallantry award shall not be given to the officer of the police party soon after the occurrence of police encounter.
Published – January 31, 2026 04:56 am IST
