The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Germany violated its convention by failing to open an independent, effective probe into racial profiling by police officers.

The judgment was delivered after a German national of Indian origin, who became the victim of racial discrimination, brought his case to the ECtHR and fought a four-year-long legal battle.

The court unanimously ruled that Biplab Basu and his daughter’s rights to non-discrimination were violated, as they complained about the racial profiling practice by German police during their travel on a train, but authorities denied any independent investigation into the claims.

"State authorities had failed to comply with their duty to take all reasonable measures to ascertain through an independent body whether or not a discriminatory attitude had played a role in the identity check, and thus had failed to carry out an effective investigation in this regard," the court said in its ruling.

The court reiterated that the internal police investigation cannot be considered effective, and states should ensure independent mechanisms to investigate complaints about racial profiling.