Will issue circular on guidelines while making arrests, Guj govt tells HC

The state government Tuesday told the Gujarat High Court that it will issue a circular within a week asking police to strictly adhere to the 'D K Basu guidelines' concerning how they should behave when arresting, detaining or interrogating a person.

The government also told the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav that it will include the D K Basu guidelines in the curriculum of the state police academy.

The government's undertaking came in response to a PIL filed in the court highlighting how policemen were flouting mandatory requirements that have to be followed when arresting, detaining or interrogating any person as laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1997 DK Basu vs West Bengal case.

Bhautik Bhatt, a social worker, filed the PIL "to prevent the rising trend in Gujarat of handcuffing various accused persons after their arrest by the police, taking them in public places where the accused persons are severely beaten and humiliated in public view".

The petitioner had sought the HC's directions to the director general of police and the state government "to issue appropriate circular and/or instructions not to take out procession of accused persons by handcuffing them or by tying their hands with rope and beat such accused persons in public place".

He also cited 10 recent instances based on media reports in which the police were shown handcuffing and dragging alleged criminals on the road and even caning them in full public view.

Among his examples were those of some persons caught gambling and tied with a rope and paraded in a market place; a man accused of raping a minor girl made to do sit-ups and beaten with sticks; a man handcuffed and dragged by rope in a market place, among others.

Replying to the court on what action was taken with regard to the cases cited by the petitioner, the government said that it had issued show-cause notices to the officers concerned in eight of the 10 cases, while in two cases, departmental inquiry had been initiated.