The Allahabad High Court has issued a set of guidelines to curb the misuse of preventive detention powers, ruling that individuals illegally detained for more than 24 hours will be entitled to compensation of ₹25,000 for each day of unlawful detention.
A division bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi directed that the compensation be paid by the state government and later recovered from the salaries of the magistrates and police officials found responsible after disciplinary proceedings. The court also ordered disciplinary action against officials guilty of dereliction of duty.
The bench expressed concern over what it described as a recurring practice in Uttar Pradesh of detaining people for several days on apprehensions of a breach of peace. It observed that police officers and magistrates were acting in a "highly irresponsible manner" by routinely sending individuals to jail in such cases.
The court noted that despite a 2021 state policy and provisions under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), authorities continued to insist on bonds of ₹50,000 and sureties. It clarified that sureties are not required under the law.
Under the guidelines, detainees should ordinarily be asked to furnish only a personal bond, generally not exceeding ₹20,000, unless reasons are recorded in writing. If the bond is executed on the day of detention, the person must be released immediately. Any refusal to execute the bond must be documented in writing and through audio-visual recording before a detention order is passed.
The ruling came while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Chander Pal Singh, a differently-abled advocate, who alleged that he was illegally detained by Ghaziabad police following a neighbourhood dispute.
The court found that Singh had been unlawfully detained from February 22 to February 25, 2026, and awarded him ₹75,000 in compensation. The state government was directed to pay the amount within six weeks and recover it from the officials responsible.
In a separate judgment, the same bench described the situation in Uttar Pradesh's police commissionerates as a "shocking state of affairs" after records showed that at least 4,847 people had been subjected to preventive detention in Prayagraj and Ghaziabad over the past two years.