HC order will help avoid purposeless arrests

Allahabad High Court said that the police may not immediately arrest persons accused under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code,if the woman was at her parents place.

Apart from directing the Director General of Uttar Pradesh police to ensure that people accused in offences not attracting more than seven years imprisonment are not arrested in a routine manner,the Allahabad High Court also said that the police may not immediately arrest persons accused under Section 498-A (husband or in-laws inflicting cruelty on a woman) of the Indian Penal Code,if the woman was at her parents place.

However,the court clearly said that it was not issuing blanket orders in this regard and have cited some of the offences,which attract not more than seven years of imprisonment,as illustrations. The court order had come on Thursday,in which it had also asked the judicial magistrates to keep an eye on those police officers who were routinely arresting people in such offences without sufficient evidence.

Police officers,meanwhile,feel that following the guidelines would help them perform their duties more objectively and avoid purposeless arrests. Dealing with the issue of 498-A,the Division Bench,comprising Justices Amar Saran and Kalimullah Khan,said that once the woman has reached her parents home,she was not likely to be tortured again by her in-laws. Hence,the arrest of persons accused in such cases immediately may not be necessary.

The court had further said: The arrest of the accused (who has been named in the FIR for an offence attracting not more than seven years of imprisonment) may not be necessary at the initial stage and his attendance may be secured by issuing a notice to him to appear before the police officer under Section 41-A (of the Criminal Procedure Code). In such cases,it would be advisable to arrest the accused only after sufficient evidence of his involvement in the crime has been collected.

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HC order will help avoid purposeless arrests

Allahabad High Court said that the police may not immediately arrest persons accused under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code,if the woman was at her parents place.

HC order will help avoid purposeless arrests

Allahabad High Court said that the police may not immediately arrest persons accused under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code,if the woman was at her parents place.