The Gujarat High Court on Friday (August 14) orally asked the State to transfer the concerned senior police officer in Surat seen on video "parading and flogging" accused persons in public last month pending preliminary inquiry against him.

The court was hearing a suo-motu plea lodged on the incident after receiving a written representation by a lawyer. Reportedly the concerned DCP in Surat was allegedly seen in a purported video along with other police personnel parading and assaulting handcuffed accused persons in public.

When the matter was taken up, the amicus curiae senior advocate Megha Jani submitted before a division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray that the suo-motu plea arises out of an incident which happened on July 14 of "parading and flogging" in Surat.

"There are various newspaper reports which are attached...there are videos which were circulated," the amicus said.

At this stage the court orally asked the Government Pleader (GP) as to what had been done in the matter.

To this the GP said, "The issue has come to the attention of the Director General of Police. I have written instructions. He has instructed the Commissioner of Police. This has come to me yesterday...An inquiry is directed to be given Additional Commissioner of Police (crime) Surat city on this incident. I have taken oral instructions. The statements of one or two people identified, as also gathering the video record".

The court asked if it was a preliminary inquiry to which the GP responded in the affirmative and said that it was underway.

On the court's query the GP also said that the concerned officer is serving in the city. To this the court orally said, "You have to transfer him. The least you must do. Continue with you preliminary inquiry. But this inquiry cannot be impartial if he is there".

The court further orally said that there must have been other police personnel on the spot who may not speak till the concerned officer, who is a senior official, is still posted the same place.

"Who are the witnesses apart from people who were present on the spot? There must be some police personnel. They will not speak. He is such a senior officer and he did something which is unacceptable. You continue with your preliminary inquiry but transfer him, he must be posted somewhere else. That is what we do, everyone does. Incident is at a public place, everyone has seen it. Video circulated. Why this incident, gravity of the incident that will come up in the inquiry. But you can't deny that incident has occurred. So if incident has occurred the least you should do is, he should be transferred to some other place and you continue with the inquiry so that it is independent," the court orally said.

The GP said that he shares the concern of the court and requested that the matter be listed next week.

The matter is listed on August 21.

Case title: SUO MOTU V/S STATE OF GUJARAT, PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, HOME DEPARTMENT & ORS.

R/WPPIL/32/2026