Beating up and causing hurt to a person does not fall within the ambit of discharge of official duty of traffic police personnel, a Delhi court has said while directing two cops to face trial in a case against them. It also said that no prior sanction for the alleged act was required for their prosecution. “If the act itself falls beyond the scope of official duty, there is no need for any such sanction. The act, as alleged in the present case, is beating up and causing hurt to the complainant. This obviously does not fall within the scope of the duty of the traffic police officials,” Special CBI Judge Alok Agarwal said.
While directing two Delhi Police traffic personnel Ghuman Singh and Rajesh Kumar to appear before the trial court for causing grievous hurt to Delhi resident Satish Kumar, the judge asked the magisterial court to issue a fresh notice to the cops for the offence under section 323/34 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt with common intention). The court also dismissed the revision petition moved by the accused cops against a magisterial court’s order summoning them as accused in the case. Both the traffic cops had pleaded before the court that they have immunity under section 197 of CrPC (prior sanction required for prosecution of public servant for offences committed during discharge of official duty).
Counsel for the accused cops contended that magisterial court’s summon order was flawed as they were on official duty, when the alleged act was committed and no prior sanction was taken before prosecuting them. “If the alleged act has been committed by transcending the permissible limits while discharging of official duty, prior sanction would be required. But if the act itself falls beyond the scope of official duty, there is no need for any such sanction,” the court said. According to the complaint, on May 11, 2010, two traffic police officials stopped Kumar while he was riding a scooter without helmet and asked him to pay Rs 500 as challan. Kumar said that the cops refused to return the Registration Certificate (RC) of his scooter and when he protested, he was beaten up and grievously injured.
