Exterior view of Allahabad High Court. | Photo credit: File
The Allahabad High Court has directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) Bahraich to investigate a case in which minors were allegedly accused of rioting and other serious crimes and to take appropriate action against the erring police officials if the allegations are found to be true.
Justices Amitabh Kumar and Rajesh Singh Chauhan, in an order passed earlier this month, issued the directive while hearing a petition relating to an FIR filed at Motipur police station in Bahraich district on September 7, 2025.
The petitioners have been booked under sections relating to rioting, intimidation, insult with intent to cause breach of peace and destruction of property as well as provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The petitioners, who belong to the minority community, alleged that their 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were also falsely implicated by the police. They further alleged that the offenses listed in the FIR carry a maximum punishment of less than seven years and that attempts to arrest them violate the provisions of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita.
“The Superintendent of Police, District-Bahraich is instructed to go through the above fact carefully and if these minors have been falsely implicated, appropriate order may be issued against the erring police officials,” the court said in its order dated 10.
The court also ordered the accused to cooperate with the investigation until its conclusion, warning that failure to do so could result in the withdrawal of the protection granted by the court at the request of the public prosecutor or the complainant.
“The petitioners must not be unduly harassed if they respond to the call of the investigating officer concerned to cooperate in the investigation,” the court added.
Published – 21 Oct 2025 21:01 IST
