Police Moral Policing and Wrongful Detention of an Adult — Legal Remedies and Rights in India

Priya Nambiar (31) and her partner Faizal Qureshi (24) were in a committed relationship for nearly two years. On 2 May 2024, they were called to a cyber police station in Nagpur following a complaint filed by one of Faizal's former friends. The complaint, registered under Priya's name, alleged that she had publicly posted the complainant's phone number on social media. When they arrived, the Circle Inspector told them the matter was trivial and could be resolved within the hour.

Things changed fast. Once officers learned that Faizal was Muslim and Priya was Hindu, the tone shifted completely. Their phones were seized. Priya was placed in a room surrounded by multiple officers who spent hours making communal remarks — that Muslims cannot be trusted, that she would be converted, that she did not "really know" him. Faizal was taken to a separate room where the Sub-Inspector made similarly objectionable statements in front of his father. A male officer physically grabbed Priya's hand and twisted it to force her phone open, claiming they needed Faizal's father's contact. Both were held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with no outside contact. Their friends waiting outside were barred from entering.

Priya's father arrived later with a local politician, after which the officers' tone became markedly respectful. But by then, the damage was done. The police had distorted the sequence of events to her father. Faizal was subsequently confined to his home by his family and community members. His relatives began arranging to send him to work at a relative's company in the Gulf, with plans to retain his passport there. He had been physically assaulted by family members and feared for his safety.

The couple approached Advocate Sudhir Rao after an earlier attempt to resolve matters through local contacts and a general-practice lawyer had not produced any result. The previous lawyer had not filed a habeas corpus petition or moved the State Human Rights Commission, both of which were critical steps here. A habeas corpus petition was filed before the High Court on Faizal's behalf, and a formal complaint against the errant police officers was lodged with the State Human Rights Commission and the Senior Superintendent of Police. With this combination of constitutional and administrative action, Faizal was released from confinement within days and both individuals received interim protection orders.

You can read about this case in detail at https://sudhirrao.com/police-moral-policing-wrongful-detention-adult-legal-remedie/