‘Can't Turn Blind Eye to Harassment under Guise of Investigation’: Madras HC Issues Guidelines to Police

While observing that it will not turn a blind eye to instances of harassment by the police under the guise of investigation, the Madras High Court recently issued several guidelines to be followed by the police in a case.

The bench of Justice Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup, to circumvent such harassment, ordered that any person required in the case as a witness or otherwise will be summoned by the police officer through a written summon specifying a particular date and time for appearing and the minutes of the inquiry shall be recorded in writing.

The order was passed in a plea by a woman who alleged that the police had been harassing her under the guise of inquiry in a criminal case.

While directing the police officers to refrain from harassing persons who will be summoned for the purpose of inquiry, the court also asked the petitioner to cooperate.

However, the court ordered the police to ensure that the petitioner is not summoned at odd hours.

It further emphasised that the guidelines stipulated for preliminary inquiry or registration of FIR by the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari Vs. Government of Uttar Pradesh and others [2014] shall be strictly adhered to by the police.

Apart from that, while passing the order, the court highlighted that numerous petitions complaining of harassment were being reported and filed before the high court seeking for directions to refrain the police officials from harassing the persons named in a complaint.

The court said though an inquiry into a non-cognisable offence or a cognisable offence is the unfettered powers of the Investigation Officers, but it is so till the power to inquire into these offences are legitimately exercised within the framework of Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Further, regarding the increase in petitions alleging police harassment, the court opined that though the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the magistrate to be a guardian in all the stages of the police investigation, there is no power envisaging him to interfere with the actual probe.

Therefore, while stressing that normally it would not interfere with the investigation conducted by a police officer by exercising its power under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court underscored that sometimes what could be harassment to the petitioner may not be the same to the police officer.