Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday warned the police department that its power to arrest should not be misconstrued as a license to punish and harass people.
A Division Bench, comprising Justices A K Jayasankar Nambiar and C P Muhammed Niyas, instructed the State Police Chief (SPC) to ensure that the provisions laid down by the Supreme Court in the Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar case, which insists on issuing a notice to the accused before arrest, are strictly adhered to.
The court warned that the power to apprehend should be employed sparingly by adhering to various rules and regulations set by the law.
The court also pointed out that Section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) clearly specifies the provisions with regard to arresting a person without warrant.
There should not be any kind of laxity in obeying the verdict of the Supreme Court. The government should in no way try to find excuses for defying the court's rulings.
The court gave this ruling while considering a contempt of court case filed by an accused in a criminal breach of trust case, Muhammed Rafi, a native of Thrissur, filed the case against Wadakkancherry Police Inspector M V Satheesh Kumar, alleging that the latter had illegally arrested him and put him in jail for 15 days. The contempt of court case was finally disposed of by the High Court after the inspector decided to apologise.
Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar
In the Arnesh Kumar case, the Supreme Court had observed that an accused should be issued a notice in cases where they could be sentenced to at least seven years in prison, as per Section 41A of CrPC .
In the Sathinder Kumar case, the Supreme Court further made it clear that if the police or other probe agencies fail to act as per this provision, the court can take suitable action after bringing the matter to the attention of the higher-ups.
