Duty of court to see citizens not harassed by arrest in petty offences: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed police officers to follow the judgment of the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar scrupulously [Bollineni Rajagopal Naidu v. The State of Andhra Pradesh]..A Bench of Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice AV Sesha Sai stated that it is the Court’s responsibility to ensure citizens are not harassed by arrest in petty offences.“It is the duty of the Court to see that citizens are not harassed by arresting them in petty offences carrying punishment less than 7 years,” the Court said..Further, the Division Bench also directed judicial magistrates to apply their minds and pass reasoned orders when extending detention under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure..The Court also said that if there was negligence on their part in this regard, they would be liable to be proceeded against by the High Court.“Any negligence in this regard shall be viewed seriously and the Judicial Magistrate concerned shall be liable for departmental action by the High Court,” the order recorded..These observations came while the court decided a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the respondents not to foist cases in a cavalier manner against media personnel or social media users without concrete evidence, and to direct the police to follow the guidelines laid down in the Arnesh Kumar case..The petitioner highlighted that freedom of press was an implied right inherent in the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India as held by the Supreme Court in Sakal Papers v Union of India..Though the Court found that there could be no general direction to the respondents not to foist false cases, since ordinarily investigating agencies were presumed to perform their duties in accordance with law, the court emphasised that the law laid down by the top court must be followed..The Court disposed of the petition directing that a copy of the order be sent to all judicial officers in the State..Advocate Umesh Chandra PVG appeared for the petitioner, while the respondent was represented by the Advocate General..[Read Order]