Fwd: Complaint against violation of Apex court direction and NHRC guide line on arresst by Odisha police
Chandranath Dani
Dear All
As a police officer is vested with power to restrain a person by handcuffing him, there is simultaneous restraint by the law on the police officer as to the exercise of the power. The handcuffs should not be used in routine manner. The minimum freedom of movement which even an under trial prisoner is entitled to under Article 19 of the Constitution, cannot be cut down cruelly by application of handcuffs or other hoops. [Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration-AIR 1978 SC 1675].
Involvement of the prisoner in a score of criminal cases is no ground for handcuffing. Nor can a person be handcuffed only because he is charged with a grave offence. It cannot be used only for the convenience of the escort party. The rules, regulations and manuals of various states authorising the police to use handcuffs have been struck down as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. [Prem Shankar Shukla v. Delhi Administration -AIR 1980 SC 1535].
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) India, issued a guide line on arrest and instruction served to all State Chief Secretaries and DG police bearing no. 7/11/99-PRP&P Dt.22nd November 1999, regarding the procedure to be followed in arresting a person. And the Commission also requested all the State Governments to translate these guidelines into their respective regional language and make them available to all Police Officers in all Police Stations.
Now in this resent past the Odisha State Police have violated all the norms in producing the under trail prisoner before concern magistrate, for which a complaint was made to NHRC for not adhering the apex court direction and NHRC guideline, the same was now registered bearing Regn. No. 1113/18/3/2013. Find append the complaint and the NHRC response.
Thank you
_________________________Cell: +91- 94392 28370, 93388 65600.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <nhrc....@nic.in>Date: 23 May 2013 11:58
Subject: Your Complaint to NHRC
To: danicha...@gmail.com
NHRC has recieved your complaint regarding jagneswar babu, general secretary odisha jana morcha. The Regn. No. is : 1113/18/3/2013. You may use this registration number for future reference.
Date: 22 May 2013 19:39
Subject: Complaint against violation of Apex court direction and NHRC guide line on arresst by Odisha police
To: NHRC
Cc: "Member NHRC
From,
Mr.Chandranath Dani, Advocate
Secretary, Center for Legal Awareness and Human Rights (CLAR)
1384/4600 Sastri Nagar, Unit-IV
Bhubaneswar 751001 (Odisha)
Cell : +91-94392 28370.
To
Justice K.G.Balkrishan
Chairperson
National Human Right Commission
Farid Court House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001.
Dt. 22nd May 2013
Sub: Urgent action against the violation of the Apex court direction and NHRC guideline on arrest by the Odisha police.
Sir
With due respect I like to bring the following matter of concern before your kindness for urgent necessary action,
That one Mr. Jagneswar Babu General Secretary of Odisha Jana Morcha (OJM a political party) was arrested on May 1 by vigilance department and he was taken on remand by the vigilance department for 21 days.
Today Dt.22nd May 2013 he was brought again by the police to produce before the vigilance magistrate at Bhubaneswar to extent the remand period, he was brought from the Jharpada Jail hand cuffed by the police, is repugnant of Article 21. Neither he is a habitual offender nor a hardcore criminal.
The link of the news published and the photograph is annexed, attached for your kind perusal.
It will be pertinent to mention here that in Prem Shankar Shukla vs Delhi Administration (AIR 1535, 1980 SCR (3) 855) and in Citizen For Democracy vs State Of Assam And Others (AIR 1996 SC 2193, 1996 CriLJ 3247, (1996) the apex court had restricted hand cuffing, also the NHRC in its instruction bearing no. 7/11/99-PRP&P Dt.22nd November 1999 to all chief secretary and DG police had issued a guideline on arrest.
Hence I beg your kindness to act urgently upon the matter and “Issue an notice to Home Secretary, Director General of Police Odisha and Inspector Genral of Police Vigilance department on violating the apex court direction and pass any other order / orders for the act of kindness for which I shall be highly obliged.
Sincerely yours
(Chandranath Dani)
Advocate,
Center for Legal Awareness and Human Rights (CLAR)
Victim Details:
1. Mr.Jagneswar Babu, aged about 62 years. R/O Sagar Pada, PO/Dist- Balangir (Odisha)
Perpetrators:
- Home Secretary, Government of Odisha.
- DG Police, Odisha
- IG Vigilance , Odisha