Kerala court awards retired army officer Rs 5L damages for 'malicious prosecution'

Kollam, Kerala: A Kerala court has awarded damages of Rs 5 lakh to a retired army officer for "malicious prosecution" by the police.

Principal Munsiff Ragi S directed the state government and six of its police officers to jointly pay the compensation to 54-year-old Willington, a retired Naik Subedar, for his "illegal detention, harassment and malicious prosecution".

The retired army officer, who was implicated in a criminal case in 2013, was exonerated in 2017 following a re-investigation ordered by the Inspector General of Police, Thiruvananthapuram Range.

The munsiff court ruled in favour of the plaintiff army officer by relying on an official communication from the Kerala Legislative Secretariat confirming his illegal detention and malicious prosecution.

"... from the acknowledgment by the state it can be concluded that the actions of the defendants (six police officers) amount to illegal trespass, abuse of authority and malicious arrest, all carried out with the malicious intent to harass the plaintiff without any fault on his part.

"There was no reasonable and probable cause for initiating proceedings against the plaintiff. ... it is evident that the plaintiff was illegally detained, falsely implicated, and remanded to judicial custody based on false allegations," the court said.

It further said that the conduct of the defendant police officers is alleged to have been "actuated by malice" and carried out in excess of lawful authority, thereby disentitling them from the protection of sovereign immunity.

"Even if it is assumed that the officers acted maliciously or in excess of their lawful authority, such conduct does not absolve the state of liability where the acts were committed in the course of employment and were enabled by the official position held by them. ... the State is vicariously liable for the consequences of such abuse of authority," the court said.

Willington, represented by advocates S R Prasanth and Vayanakam K Somasekharan Pillai, had alleged that on the night of March 4, 2013, a police team forcibly entered his residence at Kizhakkekallada here by breaking open the front gate and main door, assaulted him in front of his wife and children, ransacked his house, killed two pet rabbits and contaminated the family's well with turpentine.

He had also alleged that he was forcibly taken to the East Kallada Police Station, where he was illegally detained for two days in his undergarments and denied access to his family.

He was subsequently falsely implicated in a crime and accused of harbouring his brother who was wanted in another case, the retired army officer had claimed.

After hearing Willington, the police officers and the state, the court said that the "plaintiff has successfully established that he was subjected to unlawful trespass, illegal arrest, wrongful confinement, and malicious prosecution at the hands of the defendants (police) acting under the colour of official authority but without lawful justification".

The court said that the materials on record prove that he suffered physical injury, mental agony, reputational loss, and damaged property "as a direct consequence of the unlawful acts committed by the defendants".

"It is well settled that wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution, and illegal detention constitute actionable civil wrongs entitling the victim to compensation.

"The injuries suffered by the plaintiff are not merely pecuniary but extend to mental trauma, humiliation, and loss of social standing, all of which are compensable under the law of torts. In view of the above circumstances, this court finds that the plaintiff is entitled to compensation for the wrongful acts of the defendants," it said.

Willington had claimed damages of Rs five lakh which the court said was not excessive or disproportionate.

"On the contrary, the claim represents a reasonable assessment of the loss of reputation, mental suffering, and financial burden sustained by the plaintiff.

"The quantum of damages claimed, amounting to Rs 5,00,000, being supported by evidence and commensurate with the injury suffered, is found to be just, reasonable, and liable to be awarded," it said.

The court held that Willington was entitled to recover from the defendants a sum of Rs 5,00,000 as damages, together with interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from the date of the suit till realisation, with costs.