Patna High Court slams Bihar police over ‘unlawful’ arrest of 15-year-old, orders Rs 5 lakh payout for 2-month jail ordeal

Saying it cannot be a “mute spectator” after learning that a minor student was arrested by police in Bihar and remained in jail for over two months, the Patna High Court declared the police action against him as “unlawful” and ordered the State to pay him Rs 5 lakh compensation.

A bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Ritesh Kumar was hearing a habeas corpus (produce the body) plea filed by the family members of the boy, who was arrested on October 23, 2025.

“The I.O. proceeded to arrest the petitioner, a student aged below 16 years, without there being any cogent material. He could not have done so in this case,” the bench said.

The court, therefore, held, “We have come to a conclusion that it is a case of unlawful arrest of the petitioner and in such a circumstance, this court, being a Constitutional Court, cannot remain a mute spectator.”

The bench pulled up the magistrate for having “failed to protect” the boy from his illegal arrest.

“Because of the misuse of power by the Investigating Agency and failure of the court to protect the right and liberty of the petitioner, he has been made to suffer by way of incarceration for over two-and-a-half months by now,” the order said.

The bench ordered Rs 5 lakh compensation to the boy considering his “unlawful arrest and detention”. The costs, the bench said, were being saddled on the state “because of misuse of power by an executive, such cost and compensation must be realised from the erring officials”.

“This amount, we are assessing, keeping in view that a young boy who is a juvenile at this stage has undergone physical and mental agony for two-and-half months by now. The State Government shall pay this amount to the petitioner within a period of one month from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order,” the January 9 ruling held.

The cost and compensation amount was ordered to be recovered from the erring officials after completion of inquiry, within a period of six months from the date of receipt or communication of a copy of the court order.

The bench ordered a further cost of Rs 15,000 to be paid to the boy’s family for “incurred expenses in contesting the litigation” that were “imposed upon them due to misuse of power by the police official”.

Patna High Court slams Bihar police for unlawful arrest of teen.

The director general of police, Bihar, was further directed to institute an inquiry into the matter on the administrative side and “take a suitable view based on the materials which would come in course of the inquiry proceeding and realise the cost and the compensation amount from the erring officials”.

The boy, represented by advocates Shashwat Kumar and Aman Alam, was arrested following a physical fight between two groups in a village of the Madhepura district of Bihar. An FIR under various sections, including assault, rioting, and unlawful assembly, of the BNS was registered, and several accused were arrested in the case.

The boy, though named an accused, was not chargesheeted in the case. It came on record that the investigating officer had no material against the petitioner but proceeded to arrest the minor on October 23, last year, describing his age as 19 and produced him before the court, from where he was sent to jail.