BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has held that when no procedure exists in law to summon rowdy-sheeters, the state government cannot justify calling them orally or detaining them at police stations for long hours, as doing so would infringe their personal liberty.
Justice R Nataraj delivered the order while partly allowing a 2019 petition filed by Sunil Kumar, also known as Silent Sunil, who sought directions requiring police across the state to issue a notice whenever his appearance was needed for inquiry or investigation, rather than summoning him orally.
The court said that until the state enacts a law prescribing the manner of summoning a person listed in the rowdy register, police stations that have opened rowdy sheets against him may send an SMS or WhatsApp message directing him to appear and provide information about his activities.
The court noted that it was not examining the validity of the rowdy sheet opened in the petitioner’s name, and any incidental observations should not be read as an opinion on that issue. It added that the state had admitted there was no procedure under the Police Act, 1963, or the Karnataka Police Manual to summon a rowdy-sheeter orally for inquiry.
Therefore, securing the presence of a rowdy-sheeter without a legally prescribed procedure would violate Article 21 of the Constitution, the court said. It added that merely entering a person’s name in the rowdy register does not strip them of fundamental rights, although convicts’ rights may be restricted.
"Though the state and the police department have claimed that the petitioner was involved in serious offences, the petitioner claims that he has reformed and wants to lead a dignified life with his family. As the popular saying goes, 'every saint has a past and every sinner a future', the petitioner should be given an opportunity to reform, notwithstanding his gory past. Therefore, this court has no hesitation in holding that so long as there is no procedure established by law, the respondents cannot summon a person whose name appears in the Rowdy Register."
"The Rowdy Register shall always be maintained as a reference to keep track of the activities of the person without intruding his private space, as the right not to be disturbed is now a part of the right of privacy, which is declared to be an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution of India", the court observed.
Sunil approached the high court after he was allegedly abused, assaulted and humiliated during a rowdy parade conducted by the then Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) in 2019, following a mobile phone call directing him to appear. There is no procedure in the Karnataka Police Manual or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, for summoning a person whose name appears in the rowdy list.