HC reminds police on handcuffing guidelines

MADURAI: Giving a stern warning to the state police, the Madurai bench of Madras high court on Monday directed it to follow directions made by the Supreme Court on handcuffing prisoners scrupulously.

The bench comprising Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice P Devadass was disposing a petition by a prisoner who alleged that he was being handcuffed by the police, which is against the law. "If there is any deviation, the petitioner can inform the same to the court by filing an appropriate application and this court will view it seriously," the court said.

The petition was filed by one Sekar, detained in the Central Prison, Madurai by way of a detention order dated December 30, 2011. He said that while being produced before the advisory board or before the court, he would be handcuffed by the police without obtaining any permission from the jurisdictional magistrate. When the matter came up for hearing, R Alagumani, counsel for the petitioner said that the petitioner should not be handcuffed, but if required, the police should obtain prior permission from the jurisdictional magistrate by filing of an application before doing so.

In support of his contention, the counsel relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court wherein it had held, "We declare, direct and lay down a rule that handcuffs or other fetters shall not be forced on a prisoner-convicted or under trial-while lodged in a jail anywhere in the country or while transporting or in transit from one jail to another or from jail to court and back. The police and the jail authorities, on their own, shall have no authority to direct the handcuffing of any inmate of a jail in the country or during transport from one jail to another or from jail to court and back."

In the order, the judges also said that the Supreme Court had held that in rare cases of concrete proof regarding proneness of the prisoner to violence and if no other practical way of forbidding escape was available, the magistrate may grant permission to handcuff the prisoner.

"In all the cases where a person arrested by police, is produced before the magistrate and remand-judicial or non-judicial is given by the magistrate, the person concerned shall not be handcuffed unless special orders in that respect are obtained from the magistrate at the time of the grant of the remand."

Laying emphasis on the Supreme Court judgment, the bench said, "Where a person is arrested by the police without warrant, the police officer concerned may if he is satisfied, on the basis of the guidelines given by us, that it is necessary to handcuff such a person, he may do so till the time he is taken to the police station and thereafter his production before the magistrate. Further use of fetters thereafter can only be under the orders of the magistrate as already indicated by us."