The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking the removal of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East) Sandeep Lamba from supervising a court-directed police inquiry, holding that mere allegations against a police officer cannot give rise to a presumption of bias.
The Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia observed that any misconduct by the officer, if established, must be dealt with in accordance with law, but courts cannot treat an officer as guilty before a fair trial.
The petition was filed after videos allegedly showing Lamba slapping a woman during the recent Jantar Mantar protest surfaced online. The petitioner contended that the incident created a reasonable apprehension of bias in a police inquiry being conducted under Lamba’s administrative supervision.
Questioning the plea, Justice Kathpalia asked whether the entire Delhi Police force should stop registering FIRs simply because it was currently under scrutiny
At the outset, the Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the Delhi Police, informed the Court that the inquiry had already been completed, the petitioner’s statement had been recorded, and the report had been forwarded to the competent authority.
Recording the submission, the Court held that the relief sought had become infructuous and dismissed the petition.
Even after the order was dictated, the petitioner’s counsel urged the Court to consider subsequent developments involving Lamba, arguing that they reinforced the apprehension of bias. The Court declined, observing that the existence of allegations could not justify assuming that the officer would act unfairly in every matter.
The Court further held that transferring the inquiry solely on the basis of such allegations would amount to holding the officer guilty without trial.
The petitioner had sought directions to the Commissioner of Police to withdraw the inquiry from Lamba’s administrative supervision and assign it to a Deputy Commissioner of Police posted outside North-East Delhi. According to the plea, the controversy surrounding the officer and the reported administrative action against him had undermined public confidence in the fairness of the inquiry.
The petitioner clarified that she was not asking the Court to decide the allegations against Lamba, but argued that the appearance of impartiality was equally important in a court-monitored investigation.
The case arose from an earlier petition alleging that the petitioner had been illegally detained at Jafrabad Police Station on the intervening night of March 24–25, 2025. The High Court had directed a police inquiry into the allegations. The petitioner later challenged the manner in which the inquiry was conducted, claiming it was initially concluded without recording her statement or examining key aspects of her complaint. After the Court directed that her statement be recorded before the inquiry was finalised, she filed the present plea seeking transfer of the inquiry from Lamba’s supervision.
The post Delhi High Court refuses plea to remove DCP Sandeep Lamba from supervising police inquiry appeared first on India Legal.