Invasive strip searches in spotlight after Khobragade's case

With senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade's strip search triggering a major row between India and the US, the invasive post-arrest procedure is again in the limelight over a year after America's top court ruled in its favour.

Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General in New York, was arrested on charges of visa fraud and strip searched, which led to India lodging a strong protest with the US over the treatment meted out to her.

The 1999-batch IFS officer, in an email to her colleagues, said she broke down many times during "repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches" while she was detained with common criminals. She was released on a $250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court.

The US Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed on Tuesday that Khobragade was subjected to a "strip search".

In April last year, the US Supreme Court ruled that officials could strip search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if authorities had no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.

The Supreme Court verdict was a split one, as the decision was reached by a 5-to-4 vote. The court also refused to exempt even minor offenders from strip searches.

Writing for the majority of the judges, Justice Anthony Kennedy said courts were in no position to second-guess the judgements of correctional officials who must consider the possibility of smuggled weapons and drugs and public health.

"Every detainee who will be admitted to the general population (of jails) may be required to undergo a close visual inspection while undressed," Kennedy wrote.

The procedures endorsed by the majority judges are forbidden by statute in at least 10 American states and are at odds with policies of federal authorities, The New York Times had reported at the time of the ruling.

New York, where Khobragade was arrested, has not banned strip searches.

The Supreme Court's ruling gave its ruling in the case of an African-American man from New Jersey, whose experiences had some parallels with the treatment meted out to Khobragade.

In 2005, Albert Florence was in the passenger seat of his BMW when a state trooper pulled his wife over for speeding. A records search revealed an outstanding warrant for Florence's arrest because of an unpaid fine.