Man acquitted of assaulting policeman, court says constable was not on duty

MUMBAI: The Dindoshi sessions court on 15 July 2024 acquitted a 33-year-old Andheri resident accused of assaulting a police constable, observing that the charge could not be sustained as the constable was not on duty at the time.
According to the court order, that was uploaded earlier this week, the incident took place on May 18, 2012, outside Mallika Bar on Andheri Kurla Road when the constable, Vaibhav Sadanand Patil, along with a colleague, caught a minor boy allegedly harassing women passing by the bar. Despite being reprimanded, the minor allegedly continued behaving this way, following which Patil took him to the police station.
TSantosh Kailash Mishra, the boy’s companion, subsequently got into a scuffle with the constable while attempting to prevent him from taking the minor to the police station. The police then registered a case against Mishra under sections 353 (using assault to prevent a public servant from discharge of his duty) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to a person) of the Indian Penal Code. Subsequently, the minor was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The prosecution submitted in court that the accused used criminal force when the policemen were discharging their official duty, adding that they had proved all the essential requirements of the offence punishable under Section 353. Mishra’s advocate stated that the officers were not in uniform and were inside a bar, which showed that they were not performing their official duty.
Additional sessions judge AR Kamble acquitted Mishra, observing that the officials were not in uniform and it was nowhere deposed whether they were deputed or assigned duty to check the bar. The prosecution had failed to prove that the policemen were discharging their duty as public servants, the court said. “Duty of checking the bar by a single person without any squad itself is suspicious,” said the court.
The judge, while passing the order, also observed that there was no evidence to prove that Mishra used criminal force to assault the officer with the intention of deterring the latter from performing his duty.