The Orissa High Court in the case Rajani Sahoo and Anr. v. State of Odisha and Ors observed and has come down heavily on the police authorities of the State for their ‘complacence’ in failing to take action against the ‘Kangaroo Courts’ held in dereliction of provisions of law.
The single bench headed by Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi in the case observed that it appears that except lodging an FIR against the culprits, the Police have not taken any serious step to settle the issue and it seems that the Police has been quite complacent on this issue and has not taken any further steps that they should have taken.
In the present case, the court was hearing the writ plea moved by the mother of a victim girl whose nude photograph was made viral by some miscreants of her village.
Therefore, the petitioner approached the police and has lodged the FIR against the culprits.
The court stated that the villagers ganged up and convened a ‘Kangaroo Court’ where the petitioner and the victim were slammed for initiating a police case against the accused persons for making her private photos viral. Further, the extra-legal body fined the petitioner Rs. 50,000/-.
The court in the case stated that to punish the petitioner as well as her daughter, the villagers banished them and socially ostracized them.
The counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted while describing the unfortunate situation that such conduct on the part of the villagers is not at all acceptable under the rule of law.
The court in its order stated that the Superintendent of Police, Nayagarh to personally visit the village to assess the situation and to submit a report by the next date of hearing.
It has also been stated by the said court that except lodging an FIR, no other effective step has been taken by the police to settle the issue.
It has been directed the I.G of Police, Central Division, Odisha to have a personal visit to the village and enquire as to what sort of action has been taken against the culprits and ensure that the Petitioners are living peacefully in the village without any disturbance.
The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case stated that the IG of Police to file a detailed report in that respect by the next date of hearing which is fixed to February 08, 2024.
The counsel, Advocate Mr. Sidharth Prasad Das appeared for the Petitioner.
The counsel, Mr. Ch. Satyajit Misra, Addl. Govt. Advocate represented the respondent.
