One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: Being threatened by military personnel inside a cantonment is not something you have to swallow quietly. A verbal threat of a beating is criminal intimidation under Section 351 BNS, and being photographed without consent so that you stay scared adds weight to the complaint. What decides the outcome is where you file, how quickly, and what you preserve.
It was a little after nine on a Saturday night in early March 2025. Rohit Nair had parked on a quiet stretch in Khadki, Pune, with his girlfriend Ananya Sharma beside him. The road looked like any other road. It wasn't.
A patrol vehicle pulled up. Two men stepped out and told them the stretch fell inside a cantonment and was out of bounds after dark. The whole exchange lasted maybe four minutes. One of them raised a hand, said they would be beaten if they were found there again, and pulled out a phone. He photographed both of them, then told them to drive off.
Ananya wanted to walk into a police station that same night. They didn't. The complaint they eventually made at the local station went nowhere, with a shrug and a line about it being a military matter. That is when they approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao. The complaint was rebuilt around the correct provisions, addressed to the correct authority, and filed with a written record of what had been said and what had been photographed. The earlier attempt had stalled largely because it was pitched to the wrong desk. Advocate Sudhir Rao's expertise in criminal matters of this kind helped secure an outcome in the client's favour.
Key Facts of the Case
- A couple was parked on a road inside a cantonment area in Pune after dark.
- They were stopped by men who identified themselves as cantonment or military security staff.
- One of the men threatened to beat them if they returned.
- Both were photographed on a mobile phone without their consent.
- No FIR was registered and no written complaint was taken on the spot.
- An initial oral complaint at the local police station produced no action
Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal advocate in Delhi — Advocate Sudhir Rao appears in bail, trial and appellate matters before the Delhi District Courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.