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Karnataka High Court orders criminal case against Bengaluru cop for kicking advocate
Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the footage clearly showed Padmavati "kicking the petitioner on all parts of the body without any rhyme or reason".
The Karnataka High Court also directed the Bengaluru police to report the crime registered by the next date of hearing onJune 5. (File Photo)
The Karnataka High Court Friday directed the Bengaluru police to register a criminal case against a sub-inspector for allegedly assaulting an advocate who had visited a police station to report a crime of road rage.
Justice M Nagaprasanna said, “It is a fit case where the police sub-inspector who has indulged in such must be brought to book not by a mere warning of department inquiry but by registration of a crime and conduct of investigation.”
“The act of the petitioner cannot be condoned by staying further proceedings, nor the act of the police sub-inspector who has booted the petitioner. There is no crime registered against the police sub-inspector by the petitioner, but the CCTV footage is clear that police sub-inspector Padmavati indulged in kicking the petitioner on all parts of the body without any rhyme or reason, merely because certain papers were pulled down from the table of the police station by the petitioner.”
“Therefore, it is a fit case where the police sub-inspector who has indulged in such an act must be brought to book. No promotion will be granted to her; if she is a sub-inspector, she will retire as a sub-inspector.”
The court also directed the Bengaluru police to report the crime registered by the next date of hearing on June 5, including the conduct of the investigation.
The advocate has alleged that on the intervening night of February 23–24, 2025, an auto-rickshaw overtook her car, stopped in front of it, and then threw a stone, breaking her vehicle’s window glass.
She later reached the Madiwala Police Station around 11.30 pm to report the incident, where she allegedly had to wait for about two hours. The advocate reportedly became agitated and ransacked the station, throwing papers and other items off a desk.
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Sub-inspector Padmavati, who was on night patrol, later arrived at the police station and allegedly assaulted the advocate. The incident was reportedly captured on the station’s CCTV cameras.
Though the petitioner did not register a case against the police, the department registered a case against her for allegedly ransacking the police station under sections 121(1), (Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty) 132 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 351(2) (Criminal Intimidation) AND 351(3) of BNS.
The advocate then moved the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against her.
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