The Madras High Court has quashed the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) order that sought disciplinary action against police personnel who arrested research scholar Louis Sophia after an incident involving BJP leader Tamilisai.
The case relates to a 2018 Indigo flight from Chennai to Thoothukudi, during which Tamilisai—then the Tamil Nadu BJP president—was travelling. Sophia, who was also on the flight, raised slogans against the BJP-led Union government, following which Tamilisai lodged a complaint with airport authorities.
Based on the complaint, Thoothukudi district police registered a case and arrested Sophia. She was later released on bail. Subsequently, Sophia’s father A.A. Sami approached the SHRC alleging human rights violations by the police.
After inquiry, the SHRC recommended disciplinary proceedings against the concerned officers and compensation of Rs 2 lakh to Sophia. Challenging this, six police personnel—including then inspector Thirumalai, sub-inspector Latha, ADSP Ponramu, special branch CID inspector G. Bhaskaran, and sub-inspectors Nambirajan and Prakash—moved the High Court.
A bench comprising Justices G. Jayachandran and Shameem Ahmed held that police officers tasked with maintaining law and order cannot be faulted for immediate decisions taken at the spot, and that the truth of allegations would emerge only through investigation. The court said the SHRC could not exceed its jurisdiction by conducting a parallel inquiry and arriving at conclusions, and therefore set aside the SHRC’s directions on compensation and disciplinary action.
