While hearing a case, the Allahabad High Court said that personal freedom is a valuable fundamental right and should be cut only if it is very indispensable. Irrational and indiscriminate arrest is a violation of human rights.
The Allahabad High Court has said in an important decision that the arrest of a person against whom an FIR has been filed should be the last option for the police.
In cases where arrest of the accused is unavoidable or custodial interrogation is necessary, in those cases arrest should be made.
On Wednesday, while making the above comment in a case, Justice Siddharth granted conditional anticipatory bail to a person named Sachin Saini of Bulandshahar, against whom an FIR was registered under various sections of the IPC.
Last year, Khurja police of Bulandshahr district had registered these cases against Saini.
The court said, ‘After registering the FIR, the police can make an arrest on their own volition. There is no fixed period for the police to arrest the accused against whom an FIR has been filed.
The court further said, ‘The courts have repeatedly said that arrest should be the last option for the police and should be limited to exceptional cases where the arrest or detention of the accused is necessary. Irrational and indiscriminate arrest is a violation of human rights.
The court has also referred to the case of Joginder Kumar in its order, in which the Supreme Court has cited the third report of the National Police Commission.
It has been mentioned in this report that arrest by the police in India is one of the main sources of corruption in the police.
The report states that nearly 60 percent of arrests are either unnecessary or improper and that such inappropriate police action contributes 43.2 percent to prison expenses. Personal freedom is a valuable fundamental right and should be cut only if it is very indispensable.
The court said, “The arrest of the accused should be done according to specific facts and circumstances of the particular case.”
