The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a writ petition filed by two women advocates alleging that they were subjected to a midnight police raid, abduction, assault, dacoity and custodial torture by senior Pune Police officials.
A Division Bench of Justice Sarang V. Kotwal and Justice Ranjitsinha R. Bhonsale issued notice to the respondents and directed that the matter be listed after two weeks.
The petition, filed by Advocates Kirti Ahuja and Kanika Ahuja, seeks an independent judicial inquiry or a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged police high-handedness.
The plea names the State of Maharashtra and the CBI as respondents, besides senior police officials including Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar and Additional Commissioner Tejasvi Satpute.
According to the petition, nearly 200 police personnel allegedly entered Kirti Ahuja’s Pune residence at around 1:40 AM on June 17, 2026. The petitioners claim that the personnel arrived in private SUVs and police vans, carrying gas cutters and sticks, with several allegedly dressed in plain clothes and without nameplates.
The lawyers allege that 24 occupants, including guests, tenants, an elderly woman and an infant, were detained without search warrants.
Kanika Ahuja has alleged that male police officers physically assaulted her, tore her clothes and caused injuries to her chest and back. The petitioners further allege that the raid was intended to interfere with multi-crore civil litigation they were handling against prominent real estate developers.
They have also alleged that the police disconnected power lines, disabled CCTV cameras and took away valuables, cash and original legal case files.
The petition raises questions over the police records relating to the operation. According to the lawyers, the police claimed that the raid was carried out pursuant to an FIR. However, they allege that station records show that the FIR in question was registered only at 4:12 AM, after the occupants had allegedly already been detained.
The petitioners further claim that their administrative complaint to the Maharashtra Director General of Police was forwarded back to the same police officers against whom the allegations were made.
Seeking accountability, the lawyers have urged the High Court to order an inquiry by a sitting or retired High Court judge or a CBI investigation, besides directing criminal proceedings against police officers found responsible for the alleged acts.
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