Uttarakhand High Court Questions Police Over Detention Of Politician En Route To CJP's Parliament March

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday (July 20) questioned the police over the circumstances in which Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP) president Prabhat Dhyani was detained after he announced on social media that he would participate in Cockroach Janta Party's march towards Parliament, in support of students protesting the alleged NEET paper leak.The Court also sought an explanation from the police as to why Dhyani—an adult—was allegedly handed over to his mother after being released, instead of being set free.The order was passed in a habeas corpus petition filed by Lal Mani, secretary of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party, seeking Dhyani's production before the Court. According to the petition, Dhyani had posted on Facebook that he would attend the march scheduled at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on July 20 in solidarity with Wangchuk and the CJP.The petition alleges that Dhyani was detained by unidentified police personnel at Rishikesh railway station on July 19 after boarding a train to New Delhi.During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel argued that Dhyani had been illegally detained first by the Railway Police and Rishikesh Police, and subsequently by the Ramnagar Police.When the matter was taken up by the division bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Siddhartha Sah, counsel for the petitioner submitted that she had received a telephonic communication indicating that the police were in the process of releasing Dhyani and completing the necessary formalities.She nevertheless questioned the authority under which the Uttarakhand Police had detained him. On the other hand, the State initially sought time to place on record documents explaining the circumstances of the detention. However, during the course of the hearing, the State's counsel informed the Court that Dhyani had been released and handed over to the custody of his mother, Uma Dhyani.Opposing the submission, the petitioner's counsel stated that she had not received any information confirming Dhyani's release.The Bench thereafter directed:"The learned State counsel shall place on record the entire document for the perusal of the Court which led to the apprehension and release of the corpus. The Court would also like to know as to why an adult is given into the custody of his mother and why he was not set free? The first and foremost question would be, under what circumstances and under what provisions of law, the corpus Prabhat Dhyani was detained ?"The petition contends that Dhyani was apprehended in a wholly illegal and arbitrary manner without adherence to due process.It states that, upon learning that Dhyani had allegedly been taken into custody at Ramnagar police station, the petitioner personally visited the station and submitted a written representation seeking disclosure of the detenue's whereabouts, the authority under which he had been detained, the grounds of detention, and permission to communicate with him.However, according to the petition, police officials neither acknowledged receipt of the representation nor furnished any information regarding Dhyani.The plea further states that Dhyani suffers from multiple health issues requiring regular medical attention and that his continued detention without any communication regarding his health and well-being gave rise to serious concerns about his safety.Apart from seeking Dhyani's production, the petition seeks directions to the police to place on record all documents relating to his detention or arrest, including the legal authority under which he was apprehended, the grounds for his detention, the arrest memorandum, the place of detention, and all other records justifying his custody.The petitioner has also sought directions to preserve CCTV footage from Rishikesh railway station and the Government Railway Police premises.The matter is scheduled to be heard next on July 21.Case title: Lal Mani v/s State Of Uttarakhand and othersHABC/35/2026Ms. Snigdha Tiwari, counsel for the petitioner assisted by advocate Abhijay NegiMr. Pankaj Joshi, A.G.A. for the State. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (UK) 82Click Here To Read/Download Order

Uttarakhand High Court Questions Police Over Detention Of Politician En Route To CJP's Parliament March

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Uttarakhand High Court Questions Police Over Detention Of Politician En Route To CJP's Parliament March

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