ARBITRARY USE OF POWERS BY POLICE- (Article)

                         

"No arrest of any person should be made only because it is lawful for Police officers to do so. The prevalence of such power of arrest is one thing and the justification for the practice of such power is another."

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays it can be seen that misuse of powers is being done by police officials. The society provides members of law enforcement with the vast number of powers over citizens to enable the police to ensure peace and to maintain social order. They are afforded a great deal of freedom to use their discretion regarding which laws to enforce, when, and against whom. This wide range of options and authority is leading to the arbitrary use of their powers. Some police officers have started to see themselves not as enforcers of the law, but as the law itself.

India being a democratic country follows the principle of Rule of Law. The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the country its basic structure constitutes of fundamental rights which are provided to every person (citizen as well as alien, artificial as well as human beings), Even offenders cannot be deprived of them in any case other than procedure established by the law itself.

Physical liberty is the most admired fundamental right ensured by Article 21 of the Constitution of India 1950. It is the most important right for all human beings and consequently, denial of the right to liberty is feared by individuals. And due to this reason, the power to arrest is misused by the police for monetary gains and other benefits.

It was provided in The National Police Commission's Third Report, 60% of total arrests were uncalled for and were excessive. The report also stated that 42% of the expenditure in the jails was over persons who shouldn't have been arrested in the first place.

Abuse of powers by police under Preventive Arrest

There have been many instances when misuse of these powers has been done by the Police as well. In a case Sathi Sundaresh v The State PSI of Moodigere 2007 (4) Cr LJ 649. the persons were arrested under section 107 and section 151 and were not provided with a chance to be heard for 6 days. The case was tried without any investigation under issue. And, no order was issued under section 111 of the Cr.P.C. the HC of Karnataka held that this process followed was arbitrary and unjust as the Police didn't follow proper procedure.

In the case of Ahmed Noor Mohmed Bhatti v State of Gujarat, it was held that the guidelines provided for the persons detained must be followed in cases of Preventive arrests also. The Court also stated some guidelines in the case of D K Basu v State of West Bengal. The Court also held that just because of arbitrary exercise of powers by the authorities these provisions of preventive detention are not unreasonable or unconstitutional. Investigation in each case should be done properly to see whether the arrest is unconstitutional or not.

ARBITRARY USE OF POWERS BY POLICE RECENTLY

During the initial days of the lockdown, when Covid-19 cases began to rise, it was witnessed that one more virus is around which was less spoken about and was severely affecting the democratic structure of India that was the virus of arbitrary use of power.it was observed a denial of bail to a pregnant student activist who was arrested arbitrarily, creating disorder on an 'unprecedented scale' when all she did was that she actively participated, like many others, in a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment act) 2019 proposed by the government. We should not forget that participants in the anti-corruption movement of 2011-12 were not arrested nor media was silenced when it protested then why political activists and journalists are being arrested and charge-sheeted now for simply doing what they can do. Why police are being so intolerant and acting arbitrarily.

The brutal torture of a father-son duo in Sattankulam town in Tamil Nadu gives rise to the demand for a separate law against custodial torture. Here, the father-son duo in Sattankulam town in Tamil Nadu was arrested just because they were not able to close their shop on time provided by the government amid lockdown and after 2 weeks of arrest, they both were beaten till there last breath by "law protectors who actually turned into perpetrators". They were tortured physically, mentally as well as sexually by police.

Fake encounter killings were done by the police. Though, encounters are not defined by any law at present but can be said to be the lawless killings that are done by police in their self-defence. Recently on 10th July 2020 encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey came in news and it was stated by the UP police that he snatched their weapon and was running so there was no alter other than killing him and "coincidently" the story matches with the encounter that took place in Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state Telangana, in December 2019. As per news articles as well as some records, a total of 119 suspects have died in so-called encounters in the state since the Bharatiya Janata Party won the state election in 2017. Fake encounters are not only violative of fundamental rights but are also examples of cold-blooded murders done by the police which are being celebrated by many people not knowing that this can happen to them too.

This is need of an hour that we should raise our voice against such arbitrary actions of the police otherwise those days are not far away from where police will be known as "supari killers" rather than protectors of public and peace in public.

                                                CONCLUSION

Police are important for maintaining decorum in society. We always remember Police first when we are in trouble or under a threat but nowadays it can be seen that people in need avoid going to the police for help because now, they do not trust the police. The powers are invested in Police so that they can perform their duties efficiently in a smooth and healthy society, they at the end are under obligation to protect the rights and interests of the individuals. So, to achieve such goals they must use their powers with the utmost care and caution. It is being witnessed time and again that there are many instances where the Police have arbitrarily used their powers and there should be a proper check on these practices. There is no check keeping body on the police. Also, it is seen during lockdown abuse of powers was done by as police were using restraints imposed due to the pandemic to impose their rulebook.  the amendment clearly states that if an offense is punished with less than 7 years imprisonment, no person should be arrested for the same. if they are arrested then reasons for arrest should be clearly noted in the general diary of the police station. Neither of the procedures was followed where the father-son duo was subjected to custodial torture and it was observed by a retired police officer.

At last, I must say that there is a need for making a stringent body of checks and controls on police and we need to train our police new and efficient techniques so that they can perform their duties in a just and fair manner. There are so many laws already made in cr.p.c as well as other statutes but separate laws should be made regarding custodial torture as such term is not defined under the law also any law regarding the same are there at present. Law provides rights to arrested persons also. so, the laws regarding arbitrary use of powers must be implemented strictly also rights of arrested persons must be ensured to them. If police are suspected or are accused of any crime then proper investigation of the case should be done by trusted officers, the special check should be kept on the investigators.

 

-Kanika Mahajan

Rayat Bahra University.