The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of two Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel accused in the custodial death of a man in Gonda and said that although the COVID-19 pandemic had ended, “the plague of custodial deaths” did not appear to have abated.
Justice Manish Mathur of the Lucknow bench of the high court made the observation while dismissing separate criminal appeals filed by RPF sub-inspector Karan Singh Yadav and constable Amit Kumar Yadav. In cases of custodial death, the burden of proof can and should ordinarily be on the police personnel to rebut the allegations levelled against them… The two had challenged the August 4 order of the Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Gonda, rejecting their anticipatory bail applications. The bench observed, “It appears that although COVID-19 pandemic had run its course but the plague of custodial death does not show any sign of abating.
“The said burden of proof therefore would be upon the appellants to explain, which does not appear at this stage to be made out,” the judge said.
The FIR alleges that on November 4, 2025, RPF personnel took Sonkar with them for questioning. At around 4.30 pm, he was brought to his village for further investigation and was subsequently taken away again.
