Contempt charges against 4 policemen accused of public flogging in Gujarat

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday, 4 October formally framed charges under the Contempt of Courts Act against four policemen implicated in the public flogging of five Muslim people in Kheda district last year.

A bench comprising justices AS Supehia and MR Mengdey officially framed these charges during the proceedings.

During the hearing, DB Kumavat, one of the police officers facing allegations, asserted that he had no active involvement in the incident. Justice Supehia, however, countered this claim by highlighting Kumavat's presence at the scene of the incident.

The judge pointed out that Kumavat did not make any effort to rescue the victims while they were subjected to brutal beatings publically.

Justice Supehia said, "He did not make any effort to rescue the victims who were being publicly flogged and mercilessly beaten. He also did not take any steps to stop the flogging, which was an illegal and humiliating act. Since his presence is not disputed, it is clear that he played an active role in the said incident and had consented to the flogging."

“Watching all the videos, it could be made out that the videos were captured by some of the people standing in the public, which was being controlled and held back by the police personnel in uniforms,” read the report.

The four police officers facing contempt charges are AV Parmar, DB Kumavat, Kanaksingh Laxmen Singh and Raju Rameshbhai Dabhi.

They are accused of breaching the Supreme Court's guidelines on arrest as outlined in the DK Basu case.

The High Court has granted these officers time until 11 October to file an affidavit in their defence. Additionally, the chief judicial magistrate noted that the victims were unable to identify all the policemen involved in the incident.