Assault On Advocates: Bombay HC Transfers Case From Antop Hill To Matunga

The Bombay High Court has recently transferred a case to Matunga regarding allegations of an attack on two lawyers inside Antop Hill police station.

Despite their written complaint, no First Information Report (FIR) was registered.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse decided that the case ought to be transferred to another police station to ensure an impartial investigation.

The bench stated that, “We do not want this police station to do anything further. Speak to the Antop Hill DCP. We want this to be transferred from Antop Hill police station to some other police station and some senior officer to supervise. We do not want them to be instructing you (public prosecutor) also.”

The court expressed concerns about possible tampering of the CCTV footage at the Antop Hill police station and instructed that the footage be transferred to the ACP of Matunga Division promptly.

The lawyers approached the High Court seeking the registration of an FIR against Senior Inspector Nasir Kulkarni and other police personnel at Antop Hill police station.

Furthermore, the Court warned that, “It shouldn’t happen that some footage is deleted. Because it happens. We have seen from our experience. Some experts are appointed and footage is deleted.”

The two lawyers approached the High Court seeking registration of a FIR against senior inspector Nasir Kulkarni and other police personnel of Antop Hill police station.

The incident occurred when one of the lawyers, Sadhana Yadav, dialed 100 to report harassment and was subsequently called to the police station on May 18, where the 2nd lawyer, Harikesh Sharma, joined her.

The plea stated that Senior Police Inspector Nasir Kulkarni responded disrespectfully, and when Sharma suggested leaving the station due to the inappropriate behavior, Kulkarni and his colleagues allegedly intimidated and assaulted the two lawyers within the police station.

Despite approaching multiple authorities, including the Home Secretary, no FIR was registered according to the petitioners.

However, despite these efforts, no FIR was registered, the petitioners contended.