# Lucknow Man v. Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and 2 Others

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0042](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0042)

## Report card

By judgment dated 20 January 2026 in WRIT-C No. 26221 of 2024, the Allahabad High Court (Coram: Arindam Sinha, Satya Veer Singh, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the Sub-Inspector, Police Station Cantt, Gorakhpur, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).

- Register number: UP 53 CW 0001
- Case reference: WRIT-C No. 26221 of 2024 / 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 56 : 2026:AHC:14504-DB
- Court and date: Allahabad High Court (Coram: Arindam Sinha, Satya Veer Singh, JJ.), 20 January 2026
- Officer(s) at the material time: Sub-Inspector, Police Station Cantt, Gorakhpur
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 41(1)(ba) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “In the circumstances, fundamental right of petitioner under article 21 had been infringed by arbitrary and capricious action on part of the arresting police personnel, a public functionary and petitioner was a helpless victim of that act.” (at para 15)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).
- Present status of the proceedings: The judgment is recent and may be subject to appeal; the pendency of an appeal is not a finding.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://livelaw-cnlu.refread.com/pdf_upload/sunil-kandu-sunil-kumar-gupta-vs-secretary-ministry-of-home-affairs-and-2-others-2026-livelaw-ab-56-allahabad-high-court-653894.pdf); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0042)

**Record:** CW-2026-0042 (compiler id CWC-0941); case GAP2-4-001
**Title:** Lucknow Man v. Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and 2 Others
**Court:** Allahabad High Court; judges: Arindam Sinha; Satya Veer Singh
**Case number / citation:** WRIT-C No. 26221 of 2024 / 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 56 : 2026:AHC:14504-DB
**Judgment:** 2026-01-20 (2026, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2017-04-17 (2017)
**Place:** Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh; city town: Lucknow; police station or unit: Police Station Cantt, Gorakhpur; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** illegal detention false imprisonment
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** CrPC 41(1)(ba); CrPC 203; Constitution Art. 21; Constitution Art. 226
**Officers (gated display forms):** Sub-Inspector, Police Station Cantt, Gorakhpur (1 in record)
**Victims:** Lucknow man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Allahabad High Court (Division Bench, 20-1-2026) awarded Rs.1,00,000 compensation to a Lucknow man for his wrongful arrest on 17-4-2017 by Uttar Pradesh police in a Gorakhpur molestation case and 79 days in custody before bail. The court found the arresting officer had no credible information or reason to believe under section 41(1)(ba) CrPC, made no effort to locate witnesses or verify the spot, and later investigation showed the petitioner was not in Gorakhpur on the offence date, with the case ultimately dropped under section 203 CrPC in July 2022. The court held the arrest was not on procedure established by law and infringed the petitioner \[name withheld\] 21 right through arbitrary action of the arresting personnel. It noted the first investigating officer, Sub-Inspector, had already been punished in a departmental inquiry for negligence and ordered compensation payable within four weeks. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> In the circumstances, fundamental right of petitioner under article 21 had been infringed by arbitrary and capricious action on part of the arresting police personnel, a public functionary and petitioner was a helpless victim of that act.

**Sources (3):** [livelaw-cnlu.refread.com](https://livelaw-cnlu.refread.com/pdf_upload/sunil-kandu-sunil-kumar-gupta-vs-secretary-ministry-of-home-affairs-and-2-others-2026-livelaw-ab-56-allahabad-high-court-653894.pdf); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-high-court-up-police-credible-information-1-lakh-compensation-wrongful-arrest-521856); [shoneekapoor.com](https://www.shoneekapoor.com/legal-news/false-rape-case-police-arrest-hc)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** misconduct
**admin subcategory:** illegal_detention_false_imprisonment
**allegations:** {'category': 'Other', 'primary': True, 'position': 'Material fact supported', 'position_explainer': 'Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.', 'official_finding_relation': 'supports allegation'}
**anonymised:** False
**court quote para:** 15
**display title redacted:** Lucknow Man v. Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and 2 Others
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-09-19', 'scope': 'Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass', 'method': 'skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl)', 'result': 'holds', 'corrections_applied': \[\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2026-01-20', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Allahabad High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Allahabad High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 100,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '2026 LiveLaw (AB) 56 : 2026:AHC:14504-DB', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://livelaw-cnlu.refread.com/pdf_upload/sunil-kandu-sunil-kumar-gupta-vs-secretary-ministry-of-home-affairs-and-2-others-2026-livelaw-ab-56-allahabad-high-court-653894.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-high-court-up-police-credible-information-1-lakh-compensation-wrongful-arrest-521856', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.shoneekapoor.com/legal-news/false-rape-case-police-arrest-hc', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** illegal detention false imprisonment
**tier:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**tier badge:** Externally reported
**tier history:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**verdict:** accept
**verdict note:** HC held wrongful arrest without credible information; Rs.1 lakh compensation for 79-day detention.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2026-0042](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0042)