Inform arrests via e-post, cops told
CHENNAI: Now that the telegram is dead, how should police personnel
arresting suspects inform the arrest to the relatives or friends of the
suspect, as is required by law? Can oral intimation through mobile phone
substitute telegraphic message?
Settling these issues which concern the fundamental right to liberty of
citizens, the Madras high court has said officers arresting a person
should now make use of the e-post system. Pointing out that e-post had
come into force from January 30, 2004, a division bench of Justice V
Dhanapalan and Justice C T Selvam, in an order on Wednesday, said it's
is a credible alternative to telegrams for intimation purposes. If
information is to be passed on through mobile or landline phone, the
state government must first invite BSNL authorities and device a
mechanism to put in place an effective method of communication,
including receipt of acknowledgement, the bench said.
The third alternative suggested by the bench was that the arrests be
communicated through fax, from the police station where the arrests are
made to the station nearest to the suspects' relatives or friends.
The bench was discussing the proper method to inform the arrest of
suspects when two habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of M
Shanmugam, 51, and K Manjunath, 39, came up for hearing. Detained at the
central prison in Salem, they said their arrest was unlawful because it
had not been communicated to their family members.
Denying any illegality in their detention, additional public prosecutor M
Maharaja told the court that the arrests were communicated through
mobile phone, as it was an effective and speedy way of communication
available with the authorities.
The judges asked additional solicitor general of India P Wilson about
the services available with the postal department for instant
communication of emergency messages. After Wilson narrated the details
of e-post services, and how it has been tied up with the National
Informatics Centre (NIC) to make full use of the internet revolution,
the judges said it was a worthy alternative to the now-defunct
telegraphic service.
Citing the Supreme Court verdict in the famed D K Basu case, which laid
the pre-arrest formalities to be followed by police, the judges said
intimation of arrest should be communicated to the relatives of the
person concerned through legally recognised modes. If such intimation
has not been made effectively, then the detention order would get
vitiated.
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