38 years after his brave act, Supreme Court orders reward for UP cop | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: While traveling on a night bus in Uttar Pradesh’s dacoit-ridden Banda district nearly four decades ago, a UP Police station officer single-handedly battled a gang of armed dacoits who had waylaid the vehicle.
When the dacoits fired at him, Ram Yadav took out his service revolver and fired at the gang, killing their leader. Unnerved by this, the dacoits fled.
While the incident took place on March 10, 1986, the Banda SP recommended Yadav’s name for the President’s gallantry medal on August 3, 1989. Yadav eagerly waited for the recognition, but it never came. Over time, the government seemed to have forgotten, but Yadav continued to write to his seniors.
Decades later, upon inquiring with the department concerned, Yadav discovered that the file containing the SP’s 1989 recommendation had been lost. He then filed a petition in Allahabad HC but the court dismissed it as almost four decades had passed. He then moved SC.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan then sought response from the UP government and also appointed senior advocate Rana Mukherjee as amicus curiae for a dignified solution.
On Wednesday, UP government lawyer Ruchira Goel informed the court that the DGP, after careful verification of Yadav’s documents, had agreed to grant a certificate of honor to him.
The bench said Yadav was honest enough to inform SC that he only wanted recognition for his bravery and not money. But the bench felt that Yadav should be rewarded for his bravery that went unrecognized for 38 years, and using its discretionary powers, SC directed the state government to give Yadav an honorarium of Rs 5 lakh.