The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Bihar Unit, on Friday (July 31, 2026), criticised Bihar police, in particular the Station House Officer (SHO) of Gandhi Maidan Police Station, Akhilesh Kumar Mishra, for illegal detention, handcuffing and harassing the PUCL members for raising voice against denial of due process to detained students.
PUCL, Bihar Unit General Secretary Sarfaraz said that Akash Keshav, Advocate-on-Record (AOR), Patna High Court and Vrati Kumar, law graduate from Calcutta University, social worker, and independent filmmaker/director, were illegally detained on Sunday (July 26, 2026) and Monday (July 27, 2026). He added that at times Mr. Keshav has assisted the Patna High Court as Amicus Curiae.
As part of PUCL’s legal support group, both had gone to the Gandhi Maidan Police station on Sunday (July 26, 2026) to ascertain the status of the detained students. They were informed that the detainees were being produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) at Chhajju Bagh, Patna. The students were arrested on July 25, during the Bihar Bandh.
“Initially, both observed the proceedings of the open court for a while. When they found that the students were being sent to judicial custody without following due process, they raised their objection with the court. None of the students was informed of the specific charges against them. They were not provided with copies of the First Information Report (FIR), which violated their basic legal rights,” Mr. Sarfaraz said.
He added, “Advocate Mr. Keshav, who was in his proper lawyer’s robes, sought that copies of the FIR be furnished to the detainees; however, the SHO of Gandhi Maidan Police Station declared, in a vindictive manner, that since he had been injured during the protest, all students produced before the SDJM must be sent to jail as a punishment.”
Mr. Sarfaraz pointed out that when advocate Mr. Keshav persisted in making submissions on behalf of the detained students, police officers reportedly turned aggressive and physically cornered both advocates and other advocates present.
“The SHO threatened to prosecute Mr. Keshav unless he stopped raising objections on behalf of students. When they did not give in, he ordered the premises doors locked, and without any direction or permission from the Magistrate, arranged for a breath analyser and compelled both Mr. Keshav and Mr. Kumar to undergo the test on the spot, without the device being calibrated or tested and, subsequently, without any blood or urine confirmatory test being conducted,” Mr. Sarfaraz said.
He asserted that both advocates were taken into custody by the SHO, Gandhi Maidan, while denying their production before the presiding Magistrate, and were whisked off to the Kotwali Police Station, where they were held overnight.
The following morning, on Monday (July 27, 2026), they were taken to a nearby hospital in handcuffs, examined and declared fit, and thereafter brought back into custody.
“Even at the hospital, their urine and blood samples were not taken. Despite repeated requests for removal of the handcuffs, they were paraded in handcuffs, first within the police station, then at the Hospital and later, at around 2:00 p.m., through the premises of Patna Civil Court, in full public view a practice contrary to established guidelines of the Supreme Court and High Court on the use of handcuffs, which permit their use only in exceptional circumstances and never routinely or to humiliate an accused,” Mr. Sarafaraz said.
The handcuffs were removed only after members of the legal fraternity present at the court premises intervened and objected.
Both advocates were thereafter produced before the Special Judge (Excise). Upon hearing the arguments of the Public Prosecutor and advocates for Mr. Keshav and Mr. Kumar, the judge released them on Personal Recognisance (PR) Bond and reprimanded the Investigating Officer (IO) of the Kotwali Police Station for handcuffing them.
“PUCL views this as a deliberate and malicious attempt to malign the reputation of two individuals who were performing the legitimate duty of safeguarding the legal rights of young detainees,” Mr. Sarfaraz said.
PUCL demanded that the FIR filed against Akash Keshav and Vrati Kumar be quashed and an independent inquiry, preferably under the supervision of the Patna High Court, should be instituted into the conduct of the SHO, Gandhi Maidan Police Station, and other police personnel involved in the incident that occurred on Sunday (July 26, 2026) night.
PUCL also demanded that strict action should be taken against the erring officers.
When The Hindu Contacted, Gandhi Maidan SHO was not available, and an Additional SHO said he was injured during the protest and is currently on rest.
Published – July 31, 2026 07:11 pm IST
