Ex-Mayor of Delhi seeks action against police officers for house searches

Former Delhi Mayor Farhad Suri has approached the Supreme Court seeking registration of an FIR against police officers who conducted an alleged midnight search at his Nizamuddin East residence in the national capital, allegedly aimed at finding Abhishek Upadhyay, a freelance journalist who had highlighted the embezzlement of Ram Temple donations.

Mr Suri, represented by advocate Anoop Prakash Awasthi, said in his plea that an “unusually large” contingent of the Ghaziabad police entered his residential colony in a convoy of 15 to 16 police vehicles around 12.45 am on the night of August 22-23 to search his house.

Mr Suri said the whole thing was done in a “stated, unauthorized and intimidating manner”. He said some members of the squad were in civilian clothes and did not produce a search warrant.

The police told Mr. Suri that they had information that the accused in the Indirapuram (Uttar Pradesh) double murder case was hiding in his premises.

“When the petitioner sought to find out the authority and warrant on the basis of which the search of his residence was proposed, the police party did not produce any such document or give any satisfactory explanation. After contacting the SHO of Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station, the petitioner was informed that the local police was only informed about the visit of the UP Police team to the specific place of Hazrat Nizamud Railway Station, which the petitioner proposed to search the specific premises of Hazrat Nizamud Railway Station.

Mr. Suri said he subsequently learned that the UP police team had allegedly come under FIR No. 678/2026, Indirapuram Police Station, allegedly related to Abhishek Upadhyay, and not under a double murder case as stated by the investigating officer.

Mr. Upadhyay, against whom the Ghaziabad police have lodged an FIR, is already under the Supreme Court’s interim protection from any enforcement action.

“The manner and extent of the operation, along with the apparent disregard for safeguards governing interstate police action, reveal a coordinated abuse of police authority designed to intimidate and coerce the petitioner, thereby directly threatening his life, personal liberty, dignity and constitutional rights,” Mr. Suri’s petition states.

Breaking the law

Mr. Awasthi said the incident raised a broader question of constitutional rights, whether the police force of one state can enter the territorial jurisdiction of another state and attempt to search a citizen’s residence at midnight without observing legal safeguards, without proper coordination and authorization of the local police, and without accountability for the conduct of the police officers and unknown persons accompanying them.

Apart from lodging an FIR against the cops, Mr. Suri also sought the preservation of CCTV footage, detailed call records and vehicle registration details.

He urged the Supreme Court to intervene and lay down guidelines to prevent the recurrence of such arbitrary exercise of police power.

Published – 05 Sep 2026 22:10 IST