By Jalaj Tokas
Published On: November 09, 2021 at 19:33 IST
Introduction
Robert Peel once remarked, “The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”
Fundamental rights have always looked to prioritise and protect the dignity of individuals and to create situations that can assist all individuals to develop their personality wholly. They interweave a promised pattern on the basic structure of human rights. These rights impose certain negative obligations on the state and prevent the State from encroaching individual rights and liberty along its various dimensions.
Hence, they become absolutely essential for an individual in the attainment of his/her full intellectual, moral and spiritual status. Simply put together, they are vital for the holistic development of individuals and the country. The penultimate objective of their inclusion in the Constitution is to establish a government governed by law.
The citizens have certain rights with reference to the duties of the Police as well. They have been enshrined in the Constitution as well as in various other statutes. The objective of this article is to make its readers better aware of their rights vis-à-vis the police.
Why is Legal Awareness of these Rights Imperative?
Mahatma Gandhi once remarked that “The first step to achieve justice is to make injustice visible.”
The truancy of legal awareness is primarily the root cause of concern as it leads to deception, exploitation and deprivation of the basic fundamental rights and benefits of the public. The awareness about an individual’s rights and the means of securing them are the powerful instruments to bring about socio- economic progress.
An effective implementation of the welfare benefits and elimination of social and structural discrimination against the poor can be ensured through a process of distributed justice.
The legal aid movement cannot achieve its ultimate goal until and unless people are aware about their basic legal rights.
By emphasising on the need for legal literacy one can actually be made aware of one’s rights and means of securing those rights. Only by identifying and exercising them can we benefit in achieving great socio-economic progress.
Hence, greater awareness translates into better and broader access to justice for the people.
Rights of Citizens vis-à-vis the Police
Article 246, which is read along the VII Schedule, of the Indian Constitution, allocates the subject matter of ‘Police’ under the State List. Therefore, State Governments are well within their rights to enact laws with regard to the regulation of the police in their State. India being a quasi-federal country, which follows the procedure established by law, allows the Central Government to make and regulate laws in relation to police matters by virtue of its strong federal character.
The Indian Police Act, 1861 is the paramount statute governing the police in India; most of the States have either adopted this central law or have enacted their own statutes that are modelled on it. Chapter V of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 highlights the key provisions concerning arrest, restraint, supervision and scrutiny in great detail.
Apart from the basic rights guaranteed by our Constitution, certain other rights have to be respected with regard to the subject matter. Some of them are enumerated below-
- Rights while Filing a Complaint
If an oral complaint/statement is registered at a police station, then it becomes the duty of the Station House Officer (SHO) to write it and subsequently read it over to the complainant. Further, after the complainant verifies the written statement, the SHO shall obtain the complainant’s signature before issuing the First Information Report(FIR).
The Supreme Court in Baldev Singh Vs State of Punjab[i], noted that a delay in lodging of FIR often results in embellishment as well as introduction of a distorted version of what may have actually happened. It held that a delay of 2 months and 21 days in lodging the FIR made the DSP of Police and Police Constable as accused.
If any SHO fails to act on a complaint disclosing a cognizable offence then the complainant is well within his rights to reach out to the Superintendent of Police, in writing regarding the same.
Section 154 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 allows a person having information of commission of any cognizable offence to report it to the police and can obtain a copy of the FIR filed, free of cost.
The evidence of witnesses showed that they had informed the police about the incident in Nallabothu Ramulu Vs State of A.P.[ii] The Supreme Court while observing the lacuna in the investigation held that an omission to record statement of any of the injured witnesses casts a shadow of doubt on prosecution case. The delay in recording the FIR led to omission in this case.
- Rights during Investigation
After complete investigation of the matter, the investigating officer is bound to send written acknowledgement to the complainant which shall also include details such as the exact nature of the investigation report, as laid down under Section 173(2)(i) of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 .
If for any reason the complaint turns out to be a false one, then the complainant has the right to challenge the report in Court.
- Rights while carrying out an Arrest
While carrying out an interrogation or arrest, all police personnel are expected to wear visible and accurate name tags along with their designation.
While carrying out an arrest, the arrestee shall prepare and get a memo of arrest attested by at least one family member or a local.
An arrested person is entitled to inform one of his relatives or friend about his arrest.
The Police, within 8-12 hours of the arrest, shall notify the time, place of arrest and place of custody of the person under arrest to his/her relative or friend. All this information shall be registered and maintained in the police diary.
- Rights of Examination and Interrogation
A person, within 48 hours of his detention, shall be medically examined by a Government doctor.
In Lawyers’ Forum for Human Rights, Calcutta Vs State of W.B.,[iii], an arrested person succumbed to his injuries while being in Police custody. The deceased had apparently complained of pain in his head after falling from a running jeep. The Court held that when a person is in lawful custody of another, there lies a duty on the other person to avoid acts of omission. The police authorities were held guilty and fully responsible for not making timely medical assistance available to the accused.
A person under arrest is entitled to consult his lawyer during interrogation, subject to certain conditions.
- Rights in case of Road Accidents
The complainant is entitled to obtain information regarding the accident including the registered FIR Number, name of the victim as well as the driver(accused) along with his address, time and place of occurrence of the accident and the name of the Police Station involved.
The complainant can seek copies of the Report of Inspector of Motor Vehicles, Final Investigation Report, Inquest and Post Mortem Report(in case of death) and rough sketches of the spot from the Investigating Officer.
- Other Rights
On a complaint filed by a claimant in the Court, the police are subjected to return properties recovered from him.
After conducting a search, a copy of the search list, which includes the items seized, shall be given to the person in the presence of two witnesses.
In Arjun Marik Vs State of Bihar[iv], no independent person of the locality or nearby village joined to witness the seizure where articles were recovered from the house of the accused persons. The Supreme Court found the articles to be exactly of same weight, number, description and details as mentioned in FIR and inferred that FIR had been recorded after seizure of articles from the house of the accused persons and the accused persons had not been named as accused until then.
If the person is a woman, then the search should be conducted by another woman while maintaining decency.
In K. Veeraswami Vs Union of India[v], it was held that the Investigating Officer is only required to collect material to substantiate whether the offence has been committed or not. He may seek clarification from the accused about the sources of income and assets possessed by him. However, the accused shouldn’t be kept in darkness anyhow. The accused should be taken into confidence if he wishes to cooperate. More importantly, the accused must be provided with a chance to account for the excess of assets found with him after the collection of all materials.
On account of unnatural death of a person, the police shall hand over the body to the relatives of the deceased after the completion of a proper medical examination. The police shall also return the property found to the relatives of the deceased after proper acknowledgement.
Recommendations
To achieve the desired results in spreading awareness about the same, one can actually ponder on the following recommendations:
- Contemporary legal education shouldn’t be limited to legal institutions training future lawyers, rather it should go beyond the narrative to establish a well-read society.
- Attempts should be made to ensure collaborative engagement of young minds in understanding and utilising that knowledge for the benefit of the society. This should not only be extended to students of law colleges but it should be inclusive of the students of different fields from various schools and colleges in the outreach of this programme. Young prodigies and scholars have the desired potential to become the ambassadors of justice throughout India.
- The domain of legal literacy highlights the impact and accountability of technology and public access for delivering quality legal services in our country. The ascendancy of technology and innovation should be championed throughout all aspects of the professionally-managed rendering of legal services at all the levels. It should ensure timely and effective legal services to the needy.
- Some States in India, while taking a step towards transparency and accountability in administration of Police have even issued a Citizens Charter with reference to the duties of the Police Officers. Others shall too follow their footsteps.
Conclusion
Police Services is not just a profession but more importantly it is a promise of protection. The police are not here to create disorder but to preserve it. It is true that a civilian can choose to stay biased and prejudiced throughout his life, however the police as a defender of its people – as a defender of their rights, their security, their serenity – just simply cannot afford the luxury to let their biases and prejudices come in dereliction of their duty. If for a moment they do, then the keepers of law and order, turn into the very cause of its disorder.
However, when the moral fabric of the society breaks down, it takes a lot more than just police efforts to set things straight. Therefore, a right-minded society is identified not just by the liberty it offers, but by the mutual respect and responsibility which its citizens maintain.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jalaj Tokas is a second Year Law student pursuing B.A.LLB from University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, New Delhi. He is a life-long learner is self driven towards his ambitions. He strongly believes that expectations are premeditated disappointments and strives not just to be successful but more importantly to be of value.
Edited by: Aashima Kakkar, Associate Editor, Law Insider
References
- Police Accountability
- Law and Rights you need to know
- Rights of Prisoners
- Know Your Rights- Rights of an Arrested Person
[i] Baldev Singh Vs State of Punjab, (2014) 12 SCC 473.
[ii] Nallabothu Ramulu Vs State of A.P., (2014) 12 SCC 261.
[iii] Lawyers’ Forum for Human Rights, Calcutta Vs State of W.B., 1997 SCC OnLine Cal 45.
[iv] Arjun Marik Vs State of Bihar, 1994 Supp (2) SCC 372.
[v] K. Veeraswami Vs Union of India, (1991) 3 SCC 655.