Police must pay Rs. 25K for ignoring an elderly woman’s complaint about her son

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed costs on a police officer for his failure to act on an elderly mother’s complaint against her “unruly and defiant son” in order to ensure accountability within law enforcement agencies and highlight the significance of timely redressal mechanisms for citizen grievances.

“Respondent, Station House Officer, Ranjit Avenue police station, Amritsar, is saddled with Rs 25,000 charges, which will be paid to the petitioner-mother within seven days, for failing to resolve her grievance despite numerous submissions and causing her to come to this court. If the necessary action is not taken, Justice Harkesh Manuja declared that the District Magistrate of Amritsar would recoup the expenses from the respondent as arrears of land revenue.

Although the sum may not seem substantial at first, the court’s ruling is important because it is anticipated that the application of charges would act as a strong disincentive against delays in resolving the citizen’s complaints.

The mother filed a petition to safeguard her life and liberty from her “rebellious son,” which brought the situation to the attention of Justice Manuja. The bench was informed that instead of taking care of his elderly mother, he was pressuring and intimidating her into selling every asset her husband had left behind.

Her attorney also said that the petitioner had threatened to harm him and that three emails had been written to the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner of Police detailing the petitioner’s dissatisfaction. On September 5, 2023, she even went before the relevant SHO and had her statement recorded, expressing concerns for her life and freedom. She was forced to submit the petition since the relevant authorities ignored her representations.

On the other hand, the state counsel claimed that the involved SHO’s office had not received any such representation, despite the fact that the emergency response system had received a complaint and was taking action.

Justice Manuja said that reviewing the records revealed that several emails were sent from her brother’s email to the Deputy Commissioner of Police’s email address. She even made an appearance in front of the relevant SHO and had her statement recorded. However, nothing was done about the depiction of “the old lady being troubled by her unruly and defiant son, who is only concerned about the property left by his deceased father at this stage, rather than serving her aged mother.”

Prior to releasing the ruling, Justice Manuja declared: “Under these circumstances, the petitioner has been unduly forced to approach this court in order to seek redress for her grievance due to the official respondents’ failure to execute their obligations. The petitioner has given submissions, and the Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, is asked to investigate them and take all required legal action to support them.