Accused Can’t be Arrested While Bail Plea
Can the police arrest an accused in a case during the pendency of an advance bail plea from the accused? An emphatic “No” was the answer of Justice T Sudanthiram of the Madras High Court, who pulled up the inspector attached to the Peelamedu police station in Coimbatore for effecting the arrest.
When the government advocate had given an undertaking to the effect that the accused would not be arrested till an order was passed on the advance bail plea, how the inspector could effect the arrest, the judge wondered. D Devaraj (46) of Valliampalayam was running an industry, manufacturing wet-grinders, a proprietorship firm in the name of his wife. However, following a complaint from his wife for offences under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, the husband feared arrest. He filed an advance bail application in the Madras High Court.
When the matter came up for hearing on October 31, Justice Sudanthiram suggested a compromise formula. On a specific plea from the counsel of the petitioner, the government advocate gave an undertaking that the petitioner would not be arrested. However, the inspector arrested Devaraj on November 7 and produced him before a local magistrate for remand.
The magistrate, however, did not order the remand as he was informed by Devaraj that the government advocate had given the undertaking before the High Court. On enquiry, the public prosecutor’s (PP) office confirmed the undertaking and the magistrate ordered the release of Devaraj. On November 9, Devaraj made a mention before Justice Sudanthiram about his arrest and release. And the judge directed the inspector and the local assistant commissioner of police to appear before him. Accordingly the inspector alone appeared before the judge on November 14, as the ACP was away with some other work.
When the judge pulled up the inspector for violating the undertaking given by the government advocate, the latter told the judge that there was a communication gap between him and the government advocate. It was the duty of the police officers to verify and find out the status of their cases from the offices of the government advocate or the PP and they could not expect that the latter would inform the same each and every time, the judge said and closed the case.
