Allahabad HC slaps Rs 75,000 cost on UP government for pursuing probe despite woman denying she was kidnapped

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 75,000 on the Uttar Pradesh government for continuing the probe into a kidnapping case despite the alleged victim's statement before a magistrate that she had gone to Delhi of her own free will to meet her daughter.

A division bench comprising Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Babita Rani passed the order on a petition filed by Umed alias Ubaid Khan and others, seeking quashing of the FIR against them lodged in the Bahraich district under section 140 of BNS, pertaining to kidnapping for murder.

The bench directed that Rs 50,000 of the imposed cost be paid to petitioner Umed, who was arrested on September 18 and has been lodged in jail since then.

The remaining Rs 25,000 will go to the legal aid services of the high court, according to the order delivered by the Lucknow bench on October 30.

According to the court, during the investigation, the woman was traced and produced before a Judicial Magistrate on September 19, to record her statement. The woman stated that she had left her home voluntarily as her husband used to beat her, and made no allegations of religious conversion.

The court noted that despite this clear statement, police continued investigating the matter and kept the petitioner in jail.

It said there was no justification for continuing the probe when the woman herself had not supported the prosecution's case based on the FIR lodged by her husband, according to the order, made available on Tuesday.

Observing that Umed was kept in custody based on a false FIR, the bench quashed the case lodged on September 13 and directed his immediate release if he was not wanted in any other matter.