Allahabad High Court Slams UP Police Over Citizen's Security Plea

The Allahabad High Court has strongly criticized the Uttar Pradesh Police for its failure to address a citizen's threat to life, emphasizing that safeguarding human life must take precedence over post-offence prosecution. A division bench of Justices J J Munir and Tarun Saxena, hearing a writ petition by Nankaram of Badaun, said the police's sensitivity to protecting life has 'always been low and continues to be so'.

The court was reviewing an affidavit filed by Badaun SSP Ankita Sharma in response to the petitioner's request for protection from five individuals involved in a family land dispute. The court found the affidavit 'elusive', noting it focused on prior preventive actions and the dispute's background rather than assessing the petitioner's specific threat perception. The bench pointed out that registering FIRs and patrolling do not equate to proactive life protection.

The judges rejected the police's assertion that the village was peaceful, stressing that the risk to the petitioner's life required a specialized evaluation, not routine measures. 'If tomorrow the petitioner is shot, no amount of retributive prosecution will bring him back to life,' the bench stated, underscoring that punishment does not substitute for prevention.

The court directed SSP Sharma to file a fresh affidavit detailing concrete security steps to prevent harm to the petitioner, warning that security measures cannot wait for a 'calendar or schedule'. The matter has been listed for next hearing on May 13.