Tracing the origin of ‘hue and cry’ notice issued against Amritpal Singh: From England’s King Edward-I to Punjab Police

The ‘hue and cry’ notice on Amritpal Singh issued by Punjab Police.

The British roots

The phrase ‘hue and cry’ in contemporary terms is often associated with a strong protest or public anger or disapproval on any issue. However, in policing terms, the phrase traces its origin to 1285 when England’s King Edward I signed the “Statute of Winchester” to deal with security and peacekeeping on a local level by revamping the existing police system. The Statute made it a law stating that “if citizens saw a crime, they not only had to report it, but take up a cry to alert the police.”

The ‘hue and cry’ rule simply meant that if a suspect or a criminal was running down the street in front of some bystanders, then each of them had to yell to help the police identify and catch them. The Statute said that “anyone, either a constable or a private citizen, who witnessed a crime shall make hue and cry, and that the hue and cry must be kept up against the fleeing criminal from town to town and from county to county, until the felon is apprehended and delivered to the sheriff”.

England’s King Edward-I who had signed the Statue of Winchester 1285 introducing “hue and cry” as a law. (Facebook/ World History Encyclopaedia)

It said that all able-bodied men, upon hearing the shouts, were obliged to assist in the pursuit of the criminal. “The whole hundred… shall be answerable” for the theft or robbery committed, it said, adding “those who raised a hue and cry falsely are themselves guilty of a crime”.

In 13th and 14th centuries, when people in England lived in small-knit communities, this form of “community policing” was quite successful, and it was everyone’s responsibility to help the police.

Carrying over colonial past

With several colonial era laws, rules and terms still continuing to be in practise in India even after 75 years of Independence, ‘hue and cry’ has managed to retain its place in policing lexicon. Police rules in several states, including Punjab, have ‘hue and cry notices’ as a legal procedure in their rulebooks. Police issues a ‘hue and cry notice’ when it requires help of public in cases such as locating missing persons, identifying unclaimed bodies, looking out for a suspect among others.

For instance, Rule 23.18 of Punjab Police Rules, Volume III, says: “Whenever it is required to have a search made for an absconding suspect, or to issue warnings for precautions to be taken against a particular type of offence or particular individuals, the officer in charge of the police station or the investigating officer shall issue a hue and cry notice”.

An illustration depicting “hue and cry” scenario where people help police in nabbing a suspect. (Image: stronghold-nation.com)

It adds that ‘hue and cry’ notices shall not be broadcast indiscriminately, but shall be sent with the utmost despatch to those places, “whether within or outside the jurisdiction of issue,” where special action is required. “In all cases, when an absconder is likely to travel by railway, copies of hue and cry notices shall be sent to the railway police stations and outposts concerned. A copy of every hue and cry notice…shall also be sent to the office of the Superintendent of Police and if the SP or head of the prosecuting branch thinks it fit, copies may be sent to other districts or to the Criminal Investigation Department,” it adds.

“In cases where the absconder is known to have associates, relatives, or resorts in two or more districts and when the offender is not immediately arrested, a notice in English shall be sent to the Assistant Inspector-General, Crime and Criminal Tribes, for publication in the Criminal Intelligence Gazette. In cases where a reward is offered, the amount should be stated on the form. Officers in charge of police stations receiving hue and cry notices shall take immediate action, as the circumstances of each case may indicate to be necessary. Care shall be taken that, whenever the necessity for action asked for in a hue and cry notice ceases to operate, a notice of cancellation shall be issued to all to whom the original notice was sent,” it read.

A senior advocate said that in current times, police have minimised the use of the term ‘hue and cry’ notice and it is mostly done in cases where it really wants to stress the seriousness of the matter and to create “panic” among the public. However, another advocate said that it was a “legal procedure” which has to be followed to alert other states about the fugitive.

The Urdu connect

Ajnala DSP Sanjeev Kumar said that ‘hue and cry notice’ was broadly an English translation of “ishtihar-e-shor-e-goga”, one of the many Urdu phrases which Punjab Police continue to use in its daily procedures after partition in 1947. The Urdu phrase also translates to “create a noise or outcry about something which needs immediate public attention.” In current times, Punjab Police issues “ishtihar-e-shor-e-goga” in newspapers in case of missing persons and unidentified bodies.