HC calls for revisiting inter-state arrest procedure to prevent 'lawlessness' by police

Instances of police from other states arresting people from the national capital without informing the local police has led the Delhi High Court to call for revisiting procedure for such actions to ensure life and liberty of citizens is not compromised by the "lawlessness" of the police force.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel said such practice was "contrary to the police manuals" and if allowed to go unchecked, would "amount to condoning the lawlessness by the police force".

"In a country governed by the rule of law, this is simply unacceptable," the court said while referring to two incidents -- one of a young married couple being taken into custody from the Jawaharlal Nehru University here by a Uttar Pradesh police officer on a complaint by the woman's father and the other in which police officials from Gujarat arrested and took away a juvenile from here without informing the Delhi Police.

The court said the existing procedures to be followed by police officers of one state seeking to arrest or conduct searches and investigation in another state or union territory were "not being observed".

"There are also instances of persons impersonating police officers, producing fake identity cards and taking away persons or property," the bench said, adding it was "time to revisit the procedures devised to ensure that the life and liberty of persons is not compromised on account of the lawlessness of the police force".

The court constituted a two-member committee, comprising former Delhi HC judge Justice S P Garg and a former Director General of Police (Investigation), Kanwaljeet Deol, to enquire into the matter, particularly the legality of the actions of the UP police officer from the Loni police station, who had taken away the couple without intimating the local police station at Vasant Kunj.

"The Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India is directed to ensure that there is a full cooperation extended to the above committee both by the Delhi Police as well as the police in district Ghaziabad. The committee will be given full access to the relevant records and is permitted to question the police personnel in both police stations.

"As part of the report, the committee will give suggestions on how the system can be improved and such instances of violations by the police of the procedure minimized," the bench said.