Court acquits five women accused of assaulting cops in Mumbai police station

A sessions court in Mumbai has acquitted five women, all housewives in their 30s, accused of assaulting police personnel inside a police station, citing unreliable police testimony and lack of corroborative evidence.

The case dates back to May 2015 when a dispute broke out between two groups of women inside the Bhandup Police Station. Initially, three women arrived around 10:20 pm to file a complaint against four others for abuse and assault. A non-cognisable complaint was registered, and the women were asked to leave.

Later, at around 12:30 am, two women from the opposing party arrived to lodge a counter-complaint.

While the second complaint was being lodged, the three women from earlier allegedly came inside the police station again and started abusing the second party. A verbal altercation between the two groups soon escalated into a physical confrontation.

Police constables present at the time, including Mangala Shripati Patil and Sonali Madane, were allegedly assaulted while trying to intervene, and both sustained injuries.

A case was filed against the five women under sections 160 (affray), 353 (assault on public servant to deter them from duty), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. Four police personnel testified in court.

However, the judge noted from Madane’s deposition that there were 10 to 12 policemen on duty at the time of the incident and asked, “If it was so, then how could they not control only five ladies. It is difficult to believe that only five ladies overpowered 10 to 12 policemen and assaulted them.”

Additional Sessions Judge V G Raghuwanshi said that the testimonies of the police personnel were “not trustworthy”.

Further scrutiny revealed critical lapses in the investigation. The investigating officer, described by the court as an “interested witness,” had failed to collect CCTV footage from the station.

Moreover, a medical officer who examined the injured constables admitted during cross-examination that the medical certificates lacked any history of the injuries, making it unclear whether they were related to the incident in question.

The judge also noted that while the police had claimed to record statements from independent witnesses, none were examined during the trial. “Non-examination of prosecution witnesses is a material flaw in the prosecution case and it can be disbelieved on this count,” the judge stated.

Dismissing the case, the court ruled that the testimonies of the police personnel were not credible. “When prosecution relies upon testimonies of police witnesses only, their testimony should be of sterling quality... Conviction cannot be based on such uncorroborated and untrustworthy testimonies,” Judge Raghuwanshi concluded.

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