New Delhi: Warning that unchecked brutality could make the national police “like one of Nazi Germany,” the Patna high court on Tuesday (July 21) ordered the registration of a first information report against a station house officer (SHO) accused of assaulting a man in custody and allegedly breaking both his legs.Hearing a criminal writ petition filed by the victim, Manish Kumar, Justice Jitendra Kumar ruled that extrajudicial police misconduct threatens the constitutional guarantee to life and encroaches on the ideals of personal liberty.“If such conduct is not controlled and checked, the whole rule of law and constitutional protection of life and liberty of the citizen of the country would go to wind and the national police may become like one of Nazi Germany,” he said, according to a report by Live Law. The court directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bihar Police to investigate the allegations of assault against former SHO Kamal Nayan Pandey of Murar police station in Bihar’s Buxar district, observing that lack of accountability in cases of police violence can undermine the rule of law.Charges against the former SHOAs per the petition, Manish, a resident of Ganghar village in Bhojpur district, had gone to visit a friend’s stall in Chaugaya village on July 4, 2026, for uploading some documents. At around 2 pm, Pandey arrived in a police vehicle and started enquiring about his identity.On learning that Manish belonged to a particular caste, the then SHO allegedly began abusing him and beating him with a baton, fracturing both his legs in the process, reported Live Law.The petitioner alleged that even after submitting complaints to the officer-in-charge, the superintendent of police and the district magistrate, no FIR had been filed against Pandey.Manish further submitted X-ray reports before the high court to evidence the fractures in his legs and refute the police’s explanation that he had slipped due to rainy weather rather than being a victim of assault.What did the court ruleThe single judge bench rejected the justification provided by the police in the state’s counter affidavit report and observed that “the breaking of the legs of the Petitioner, as is visible in the X-Ray Report, does not persuade this court to accept the explanation given by the police, nor can one believe that a poor man who does not gather courage to lodge FIR even against his co-citizen can dare to lodge false report against a police officer,” according to Live Law.It held that the allegations amounted to grave cognizable offences by the police officer and that prosecution of the accused would not require “prior sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) or Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.”“Such brutal act on the part of the police officer against a poor man is not a part of his official duty,” the bench said. It further noted that petitioner would not be referred to an alternate remedy under Section 156(3) CrPC at this stage, as such an act would amount to “further injustice” against the victim.The court said the allegations blatantly violated the petitioner’s fundamental rights enshrined under Article 21 of the constitution and a failure to order an FIR would further erode public trust in both the police and the courts.Lastly, it directed the director general of police (DGP) to submit a compliance report within 30 days.