# Chitrakoot Man And Another vs State Of U.P. And 4 Others

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0102](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0102)

## Report card

By judgment dated 23 September 2026 in HABEAS CORPUS WRIT PETITION No. - 1169 of 2026, the Allahabad High Court (Coram: Atul Sreedharan, Achal Sachdev, JJ.) returned findings adverse to 2 police personnel, namely: Station House Officer (since suspended), P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot; Investigating Officer, P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 10,000.

- Register number: UP 96 CW 0001
- Case reference: HABEAS CORPUS WRIT PETITION No. - 1169 of 2026
- Court and date: Allahabad High Court (Coram: Atul Sreedharan, Achal Sachdev, JJ.), 23 September 2026
- Officer(s) at the material time: Station House Officer (since suspended), P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot; Investigating Officer, P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 21 of the Constitution of India of the Constitution of India; the Section 119(g) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
- Finding of the Court (extract): “the feeds within the police Thana were deliberately either deleted or deliberately not saved in the DVR as there is no argument put forth with regard to malfunction of any CCTV cameras” (at para 15)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 10,000.
- 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://indiankanoon.org/doc/173578843/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0102)

**Record:** CW-2026-0102 (compiler id CWC-1392)
**Title:** Chitrakoot Man And Another vs State Of U.P. And 4 Others
**Court:** Allahabad High Court (verified as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad); judges: Atul Sreedharan; Achal Sachdev
**Case number / citation:** HABEAS CORPUS WRIT PETITION No. - 1169 of 2026
**Judgment:** 2026-09-23 (2026, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2026-07-13 (2026)
**Place:** Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh; police station or unit: P.S. Sardhuwa, District Chitrakoot; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** illegal detention false imprisonment
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Section 119(g) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
**Officers (gated display forms):** Station House Officer (since suspended), P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot; Investigating Officer, P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot (2 in record)
**Victims:** Chitrakoot man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 10,000
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The High Court recorded that a sand-mining businessman, accused in a cheating and breach-of-trust FIR arising from what the informant himself called a civil dispute, was brought into P.S. Sardhuwa, Chitrakoot at 9:00 a.m. on 13.07.2026, taken out at 10:19 a.m. in the informant's vehicle accompanied by the Investigating Officer, and brought back at 8:24 p.m., while the arrest memo showed arrest at 3:30 p.m. and the general diary showed him in the lock-up from 6:41 p.m. Footage from the three cameras inside the police station was not produced. The court rejected the explanation for the missing footage as false and mischievous, held the feeds were deliberately deleted or not saved, found the grounds of arrest woefully inadequate, set aside the arrest, and awarded Rs. 10,000 for 24 hours' illegal detention, recoverable from the person found responsible after inquiry. It observed that the police appeared to have acted as recovery agents for the complainant, and laid down that police-station CCTV must run 24/7 with general-diary entries and release receipts whenever it fails.

> the feeds within the police Thana were deliberately either deleted or deliberately not saved in the DVR as there is no argument put forth with regard to malfunction of any CCTV cameras

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/173578843/); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-hc-police-station-cctv-safeguards-arrested-interrogation-552464)
**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': 'Court finding', 'position_explainer': 'A court has made a finding on this allegation.', 'official_finding_relation': 'supports allegation'}
**anonymised:** True
**court quote para:** 15
**display title redacted:** Chitrakoot Man And Another vs State Of U.P. And 4 Others
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-10-05', 'scope': 'Past-week sweep (26 Sep-5 Oct): order dated 23.09.2026 reported on 30.09.2026; record written from the order text on Indian Kanoon; quote checked verbatim; officers and the petitioner are not named.'}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2026-09-23', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'High Court of Judicature at Allahabad', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': "The High Court set aside the arrest for inadequate grounds, ordered release, awarded Rs. 10,000 for 24 hours' illegal detention recoverable after inquiry, and directed that police-station CCTV run 24/7 with general-diary safeguards when it fails.", 'disposition': 'Adverse finding (illegal detention, deliberate loss of CCTV footage) · arrest set aside · Rs. 10,000 compensation · CCTV directions', 'source': 'HABC No. 1169 of 2026', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-10-05
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/173578843/', 'link_checked': '2026-10-05'}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-hc-police-station-cctv-safeguards-arrested-interrogation-552464', 'link_checked': '2026-10-05'}
**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:** Checked against the Allahabad High Court order dated 23.09.2026 in HABC No. 1169 of 2026 (Indian Kanoon), reported by LiveLaw on 30.09.2026. CCTV timings at paras 11 and 15-17, the finding on deleted feeds at paras 13-15, grounds of arrest at para 19, CCTV directions at paras 20-21, and release and compensation at paras 24-25. The underlying cheating case is not assessed by the court. Officers and the petitioner are not named here.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2026-0102](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0102)