The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the Pune Police Commissioner to take “stringent action” against a station house officer who refused to file a case after two Muslim brothers alleged they were attacked for their religious identity, Live Law reported.

The case pertained to an altercation that took place in April when two brothers named Karan and Harsh Keswani were riding a two-wheeler in the Bhawani Peth area. The siblings alleged that a quarrel erupted between them and a man named Shoaib Umar Sayyad after he objected to Harsh honking his vehicle horn.

The Keswani brothers alleged that Harsh was severely injured in the attack by Sayyad and his brother, according to Pune Mirror.

However, Sayyad also claimed that members of the Keswani family brutally assaulted him and his brother, leaving them injured, Live Law reported. He alleged that they had been beaten up on account of their religion.

Sayyad said that when he filed a police complaint, Station House Officer Shashikant Chavan of the Khadak police station refused to file a first information report on the grounds that the Keswani family had already lodged a case against him and his brother for alleged attempt to murder.

On Tuesday, a division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad said that despite a clear order passed in the previous hearing, the station house officer said on affidavit that he would not file a first information report on the complaint of the Sayyad brothers.

“Why is the officer taking sides?” Ghuge verbally remarked, according to Live Law. “He is not supposed to take sides. If he does not know the law in cases where the second or the opposite party comes to lodge FIR, then his senior will have to take some action against him.”

The bench said that even a cursory glance at the complaint and photos on record showed that the complainant and the brothers had been badly assaulted. The court directed a first information report to be filed based on the complaint within 48 hours.

The court told the Pune Police Commission to issue a show cause notice to Station House Officer Shashikant Chavan and seek an explanation, Live Law reported. If the officer’s explanation is not satisfactory, disciplinary action should be taken against him, the bench said.