Custodial Death Allegations: Delhi High Court Transfers Probe To Crime Branch, Orders ACP-Rank Investigation

The Delhi High Court has transferred the investigation into an alleged custodial death at Police Station Pul Prahladpur to the Crime Branch, directing that the probe be conducted by an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) under the supervision of the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani was hearing a petition filed by a man alleging that his father died due to brutal assault by police officials while in custody on February 23, 2026.

Petitioner claimed that both he and his father were taken to the police station in connection with a property dispute, where his father was allegedly beaten by officers and later declared “brought dead” at AIIMS.

The Court took note of the serious nature of the allegations and the fact that the investigation was initially being conducted by an officer from the same police station where the incident allegedly occurred.

Observing the likelihood of conflict of interest, the Court deemed it appropriate to transfer the probe.

“On a prima-facie view of the matter, and in light of what has been recorded above, in the interests of justice and in order to obviate any conflict or allegations that may come to be made subsequently, the investigation of case FIR No. 44/2026 dated 24.02.2026 registered under sections 105/3(5) BNS at P.S.: Pul Prahladpur, New Delhiis transferred from P.S.: Pul Prahladpur, New Delhi to P.S.: Crime Branch, New Delhi with a direction to the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime),Delhi Police to appoint an appropriate investigating officer of at least the rank of an ACP to investigate the matter, under the direct supervision of the Joint Commissioner (Crime),” it ordered.

During the hearing, the Station House Officer informed the Court that CCTV footage for the relevant dates was unavailable as the system had reportedly been non-functional due to damage caused by monkeys.

In this backdrop, the Court further directed the SHO to file an affidavit placing these facts on record and to produce all available video material.

The matter is scheduled to be heard next on May 05.

Appearance: Mr. Ayush Dutt Tripathi, Advocate for Petitioner; Mr. Sangeet Sibou, Mr. Aniket Kumar Singh and Mr. Priyanshu Raj Singh, Advocates. SI Shamsher Singh, in-person via video-conferencing. Mr. Sanjay Lao, SC for the State with Mr. Aryan Sachdeva and Mr. Abhinav Kr. Arya, Advocates Mr. Sanjeev Bhandari, ASC for the State with Mr. Arjit Sharma and Ms. Sakshi Jha, Advocates. Inspector Mahendra Pratap Singh. I.O. Shamsher Singh

Case title: Rahul Chauhan v. State

Case no.: W.P.(CRL) 997/2026

Click here to read order