defending a physical attack from police during lockdown in India

What the Policeman did was not correct. He is not supposed to kick a running vehicle which caused the rider to fall down.  And, the Motorcyclist also is not supposed onto the road violating prohibitory orders. The Motorcyclist should have slowed down and stopped on seeing the Police on the road.

Point is civic sense is most important among the people. People are violating the prohibitory orders which are imposed for the general good of the society is not good. An individual motorcyclist cannot claim rights for himself, while his violation of prohibitory orders is likely to endanger scores of people.  Policeman must have acted in frustration as he has been seeing people violating the orders with impunity, in fact, mocking them on duty. Legality, rights, etc shall come when everything is okay but not in extraordinary circumstances that we are in now. Let's follow the government orders and be safe instead of violating the orders and get into a position where Police start and then start hollering about rights.  Befor thinking about rights, let us be responsible citizens.

What the Policeman did was not correct. He is not supposed to kick a running vehicle which caused the rider to fall down.  And, the Motorcyclist also is not supposed to come onto the road violating prohibitory orders. The Motorcyclist should have slowed down and stopped on seeing the Police on the road instead of trying to bypass them and escape.

Point is,  civic sense is most important among the people. People violating the prohibitory orders is not good which are imposed in the first place for the general good of the society. An individual motorcyclist cannot claim rights for himself, while his violation of prohibitory orders is likely to endanger scores of people.  The policeman must have acted in frustration as he has been seeing people violating the orders with impunity, in fact, mocking them on duty. Legality, rights, etc shall come when everything is okay but not in extraordinary circumstances that we are in now. Let's follow the government orders and be safe instead of violating the orders and get into a position where Police start taking action and then holler about rights.  Before thinking about rights, let us be responsible citizens.

This is your query: "what should i do if i get in to the same situation? please provide me an answer and tell me my rights  "

When there are orders of lockdown in larger public interest and when loitering in roads without any specific purpose is a violation, you have no right to move out, keep indoors, obey the orders as you do not have any such rights to violate prohibitory orders.  Never move out and invite such trouble, as you have learned likely treatment by  Police, who are under deep stress/anxiety and performing their duties in a can not but position.

The act of the police is illegal and can be considered as an excess act and brutality.

The victim can give a complaint about this to the higher polie officer and also can give a complaint to the State Human rights commission.

Public compliance cannot be obtained with violence and in order to combat COVID-19 successfully, a reversal of the adversarial relationship between the police and the public is the need of the hour".

Since the announcement, numerous videos have surfaced on social media platforms, showcasing incidents of police brutality being inflicted on persons who are violating the lockdown. The violence ranges from making the violators crawl on the road to viciously employing lathi charge against them. In one particular case in West Bengal, a man died after being beaten up by the police as he had stepped out to buy milk during the lockdown.

STATUTORY PROVISIONS ENABLING IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCKDOWN

As per the data shared by Delhi Police, more than 180 cases had been registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code and more than 5000 had been detained under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act (DPA) and 956 cars have been impounded under Section 66 of the DPA on the first day for violation of the orders of the government in the capital city.

The MHA Guidelines stipulate the statutory provisions which can be invoked for the smooth implementation of the lockdown:

"Any person violating these containment measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, besides legal action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code."

Violation of Section 188 does not authorize police officers to inflict physical damage on a person. At the most, the police have the authority to detain an individual for failure of adherence of the lockdown order, and the offender has right to be released on bail, the offence being bailable. It is also to be noted that criminal court cannot proceed against a person under this offence on the basis of a final report, unlike many other offences. 

In a judgement pronounced on 25th March, 2020 by the Kerala High Court in a Suo Moto writ petition regarding COVID-19, it was noted that "right of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India should not, at any rate, be infringed by arresting an accused, except in matters where arrest is inevitable." The High Court went on to grant the State the liberty to take appropriate decisions with regard to heinous/serious offences, however, there was a clear emphasis on the observation that arresting an individual was not to be taken as the norm.

Drastic measures have been taken to flatten the curve of COVID-19 and are very much required. Nationwide lockdowns have been instituted in many countries to prevent possible vectors from infecting others. However, the seriousness of the crisis that faces us cannot justify the disproportionate force that is being meted out. In majority of the cases, there is little to no opposition from the alleged violators who are well within their rights to venture out of their homes to get essential goods. Therefore, humiliating these people and beating them is not only reprehensibly excessive, but also unjustified, no matter the intention of the police force.

It is clear that the usage of brute force on behalf of the police officers does not stem from Section 188 of the IPC; hence, it can be safely discerned that the same is unjustified and excessive. Maintenance of law and order is the basic duty of the police; overstepping the parameters set by statutes is downright illegal. Justifying the same on the grounds of possible human right violations of potential victims of the virus is also a moot point as the videos blatantly display that the situation requiring social distancing is made worse by police intervention. There is also minimal effort on behalf of the police to differentiate between actual flouters and those who have stepped outside their homes to access essential services.