KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the state police chief to see to it that the police scrupulously follow the Supreme Court’s direction before arresting a person in a case. The court issued the order while disposing of a petition filed by Muhammed Rafi of Thrissur seeking to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the inspector of police in Wadakkancherry.
The petitioner submitted that the police arrested him in total violation of the Apex Court’s judgment.The court accepted the affidavit filed by the inspector general tendering an unconditional apology and dropped the contempt of court proceedings.
In the Arnesh Kumar case, the Apex Court had categorically held that a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure is a prerequisite for arresting an accused in cases where offences punishable with imprisonment for a term which may be less than 7 years or which may extent to 7 years whether with or without fine.The court reminded the police that it cannot use the criminal justice process as a punitive tool or as a measure of harassment.