Hyderabad: Justice K Surender of the Telangana High Court recently addressed a contempt petition concerning the deliberate disregard of Section 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) by police officers.
This section is designed to protect individuals from unnecessary arrests by requiring police to issue notices before making arrests for offences that do not warrant immediate detention.
Fine of Rs 2000 imposed as well
In a ruling delivered on Friday, December 27, the court sentenced Sub-Inspector (SI) Naresh Yadav of the Tarigoppula police station in Jangaon district to one week in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000.
However, upon a request from state home department counsel Mahesh Raje, the judge suspended the sentence for one week to allow Yadav to seek legal remedies.
Compensation of Rs 50000 to the arrestee
Additionally, the court ordered Yadav to pay Rs 50,000 in compensation to Golasu Narasaiah, who was arrested without prior notice under Section 41-A, despite explicit instructions from the court.
The judge criticized the conduct of police officers for willfully neglecting to issue required notices under Section 41-A, stating that such actions violate individuals’ fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.
The case arose after an FIR was registered against Narasaiah for non-payment related to a paddy stock, with charges including IPC Section 420 (cheating) and Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants).
When Narasaiah contested the application of Section 409, the court determined it was not applicable and instructed police to issue notices under Section 41-A. Despite these directives, SI Naresh proceeded with Narasaiah’s arrest and remand.
In his defence during the contempt proceedings, Naresh claimed he had not received the court orders and that Narasaiah had not informed him about them at the time of the arrest.
Senior counsel T Surya Satish argued that Naresh’s actions demonstrated a willful disregard for court orders, leading the court to conclude that the SI showed no remorse for his misconduct.
