NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said custodial interrogation should be avoided if an accused cooperates in the probe, as “a great ignominy, humiliation and disgrace is attached to arrest”.
“In cases where the court is of the considered view that the accused has joined the investigation and he is fully cooperating with the investigating agency and is not likely to abscond, in that event, custodial interrogation should be avoided. A great ignominy, humiliation and disgrace is attached to arrest.
“Arrest leads to many serious consequences not only for the accused but for the entire family and at times for the entire community. Most people do not make any distinction between arrest at a pre-conviction stage or post-conviction stage,” a Bench of Justice R F Nariman and Justice A K Sikri said.
The Bench said the gravity of charges and the exact role of the accused must be properly comprehended before arresting him or her and officers must record valid reasons for the arrest in the case diary.
Once the accused is released on anticipatory bail, it would be unreasonable to compel him to surrender before the trial court and apply for regular bail, the judges said.