Delhi HC issues guidelines for appearance of accused before Police

The Delhi High Court has directed the police to follow a stated procedure with regard to the working of Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure which deals with the appearance of an accused before a police officer..The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar laid down the procedure while disposing of a public interest litigation filed by one Amandeep Singh Johar through Advocate Nikhil Borwankar..The petitioner was initially facing proceedings before the ‘Crime Against Women Cell’ in Delhi at the instance of his wife. The proceedings then culminated in the registration of an FIR after which the petitioner was regularly summoned to the Police Station without a notice under Section 41A, being served upon him..The Delhi High Court had requested the Registrar General Dinesh Kumar Sharma to examine the issues. He was also assisted by the then ASG Sanjay Jain, ASC for Delhi Government Satyakam and senior officers of the Delhi Police including Joint Commissioner Virender Chahal..After considering the report and suggestions made by the aforementioned officers, the Court laid down a detailed set of guidelines for enhancing transparency along with model forms of notice and acknowledgment. Some of the guidelines are as follows:.A suspect/ accused on formally receiving a notice under section 41A CrPC and appearing before the concerned officer for investigation/ interrogation at the police station may request the concerned IO for anacknowledgment.In the event, the suspect / accused is directed to appear at a place other than the police station (as envisaged under Section 41A(1)CrPC), the suspect will be at liberty to get the acknowledgment receipt attestedby an independent witness if available at the spot in addition to getting the same attested by the concerned investigating officer himself.A duly indexed booklet containing serially numbered notices in duplicate/ carbon copy format should be issued by the SHO of the Police Station to the Investigating Officer. The Notice should necessarily contain the following details:Serial NumberCase NumberDate and time of appearanceConsequences in the event of failure to complyAcknowledgment slipThe Investigating Officer shall follow the following procedure –The original is served on the Accused/ Suspect.A carbon copy (on white paper) is retained by the IO in his/ her case diary, which can be shown to the concerned Magistrate asand when required.Used booklets are to be deposited by the IO with the SHO of the Police Station who shall retain the same till the completion of the investigation and submission of the final report under section 173 (2) of the Cr.P.C.The Police department shall frame appropriate rules for the preservation and destruction..The Bench directed that the procedure shall also apply to the working of Sections 91, 160 and 175 of the CrPC. The Bench further directed that the guidelines should be widely publicized to ensure that the general public is apprised of the said procedure..The Bench appreciated the assistance provided by the Registrar General, ASG, ASC and Advocate Nikhil Borwankar along with others and also praised the petitioner for highlighting this important issue without making any arguments regarding the merits of his own case,.“The present writ petition is a laudable effort on the part of a petitioner who, though facing criminal prosecution, has opted to pursue a larger public interest and to bring some transparency to the manner of police functioning.” .Read Judgment: