The Allahabad High Court has awarded ₹5 lakh compensation to a man who was arrested despite an interim order protecting him from arrest. Holding that the police failed to comply with a court order and continued the detention even after being informed about it, the Court directed disciplinary proceedings against the concerned Station House Officer (SHO).
The order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi in a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Anil Soni.
Background of the Case
According to the petition, Anil Soni was named in an FIR lodged by a woman with whom he had earlier been in a relationship. Challenging the FIR, he had approached the High Court through a criminal writ petition.
On April 1, 2026, a coordinate Bench of the High Court granted interim protection and stayed his arrest. However, before the order was uploaded on the court website, Soni was arrested on April 4, 2026.
The petitioners contended that efforts were made to inform the local police station about the interim protection. They claimed that affidavits were submitted and lawyers contacted police officials regarding the stay order. Despite this, the arrest was carried out and Soni remained in custody.
Court's Observations
The High Court noted that the interim order had been passed in the presence of the State's counsel and the complainant's counsel. Therefore, it could not be argued that the authorities were unaware of the protection granted to the petitioner.
The Bench observed:
“It was boundent duty of the counsel for respondents to inform the respondent no.3 and other police officials that the arrest of the petitioner no.1 has been stayed by the Hon'ble High Court and they should not arrest him.”
The Court found it significant that even after the habeas corpus petition was filed and multiple opportunities were given, no effort was made to secure the petitioner's release until a specific order was passed by the Court on April 29, 2026.
Expressing concern, the Bench remarked that such incidents were becoming increasingly common and pointed to either a failure of communication between government counsel and police authorities or deliberate disregard of court orders.
The Court further noted that information regarding the stay order had also reached senior police officials through registered post, yet no corrective action was taken.
Court's Decision
Concluding that the arrest and continued detention amounted to a violation of the Court's order, the Bench held that the conduct of the concerned SHO warranted both disciplinary and monetary consequences.
Relying on earlier Supreme Court decisions relating to compensation for unlawful detention, the Court directed the State Government to pay ₹5 lakh compensation to Anil Soni within one month.
The Court also permitted the State to recover the amount from the concerned SHO, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, and ordered initiation of disciplinary proceedings against him for dereliction of duty and violation of the Court's order.
Additionally, the Superintendent of Police, Siddharth Nagar, was directed to file a compliance affidavit by July 13, 2026, regarding payment of compensation and disciplinary action.
Case Details:
Case Title: Anil Soni (Corpus) and Another v. State of U.P. and 3 Others
Case Number: Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No. 451 of 2026
Judges: Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi
Decision Date: May 29, 2026
