Hyderabad, July 22 -- The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday, July 21, sharply criticised the state police over the detention of a political activist who was travelling to Delhi to participate in a protest over the alleged NEET paper leak, questioning whether the police were acting to uphold citizens' constitutional rights or protect the government's image.

A division bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Siddharth Sah made the observations while hearing a habeas corpus petition for the second consecutive day in connection with the detention of Prabhat Dhyani (62), president of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP).

Dhyani was stopped by police at the Rishikesh railway station on Sunday while boarding a train to Delhi, where he...