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2015 (5) TMI 1258 - HC - Indian LawsPolice custody beyond remand period - Relevant date from which date the first period of fifteen days mentioned in Section 167(2) of the Cr.P.C. is to be computed - HELD THAT - In the case in hand, the Additional Superintendent of Police, CBI, SCB (SIT), Kolkata effected arrest of the accused. Therefore, it is his duty to take or send the person arrested before the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the case. Section 57 Cr.P.C. commands that no police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without warrant for a long period exceeding twenty four hours which period is exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate. The only relaxation for production of the arrested accused within twenty four hours contained in Section 57 Cr.P.C. is in case the Magistrate under Section 167 Cr.P.C. by special order authorized the police officer to detain such person for a period of more than twenty four hours. In case an arrested accused person acquired any health problem after his arrest, then it is for the police officer to produce the accused before the Magistrate within twenty four hours after obtaining Medical Certification of the accused from a Government Doctor and thereafter it is for the Magistrate who after authorising the custody of the accused to this specified authority under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. to take a decision and to give a direction either to prison authorities in case the accused is authorised to be detained in prison or to the police authorities in case the accused is authorized to be detained in police custody, for getting necessary medical aid and to provide necessary medical facilities to the accused so detained. It is not for the police officer to admit the accused in a hospital and to violate legal and constitutional mandate of production of the arrested accused before the Magistrate within twenty four hours of his detention under arrest. Such action on the part of the police officers is likely to lead unscrupulous tendencies like in the present case, where the accused was allowed to remain in hospital from 31.01.2015 to 06.02.2015 after his arrest without production before a Magistrate, till the accused was declared fit by the hospital authorities and he was produced on 07.02.2015. Such activity on the part of the police officers will give wrong signals to the society and to the public at large that rich and influential person can manage unscrupulous police officers, so that they need not go either to a Court or to a prison even after arrest while in custody. The said C.B.I. Officer prima-facie committed a Constitutional violation in not producing the accused before the Magistrate within twenty four hours of his arrest. His action/inaction in this regard is highly deplorable. The remand order passed by the jurisdiction Magistrate alone has to be legally considered as first remand for all the practical purposes. In the case of CBI v. Anupam J. Kulkarni 1992 (5) TMI 191 - SUPREME COURT the Hon'ble Supreme Court has clearly laid down that the period of 90 days or 60 days has to be computed from the date of detention as per the orders of the Magistrate and not from the date of arrest by the police. Consequently the first period of fifteen days mentioned in Section 167(2) has to be computed from the date of such detention and after the expiry of the period of first fifteen days it should be only judicial custody. In the instant case the Learned Magistrate passed the remand order on 01.02.2015 sending the accused into the judicial custody till 13.02.2015. Therefore, the impugned order passed on 15.02.2015 remanding the petitioner/accused to police custody till 21.02.2015 is beyond the first remand period of fifteen days. Therefore, such order is absolutely illegal and cannot be sustained. This Court is of the firm view that the police custody cannot be ordered in any circumstances beyond the first remand period of fifteen days. In such view of the matter the impugned order under challenge is liable to be set aside and accordingly it is set aside. Revision allowed.
Issues Involved:
1. Legality of the order for further detention of the petitioner in police custody beyond the initial 15-day period. 2. Compliance with constitutional and statutory provisions regarding the production of an arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours. 3. Validity of police custody beyond the first 15 days from the date of arrest. Detailed Analysis: 1. Legality of the order for further detention of the petitioner in police custody beyond the initial 15-day period: The petitioner challenged the order dated 15th February 2015, which remanded him to police custody till 21st February 2015. The petitioner was initially arrested on 31st January 2015 and remanded to judicial custody on 1st February 2015. The petitioner argued that the magistrate is empowered under Section 167 of the Cr.P.C. to remand an accused to police custody only for the first 15 days from the date of arrest. Since the petitioner was arrested on 31st January 2015, the first fifteen days expired on 14th February 2015. Consequently, the order dated 15th February 2015 was deemed illegal and liable to be set aside. The court referred to the Supreme Court's decision in CBI v. Anupam J. Kulkarni, which held that police custody can only be ordered during the first period of fifteen days, and any further custody must be judicial. 2. Compliance with constitutional and statutory provisions regarding the production of an arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours: Article 22 of the Indian Constitution mandates that any person arrested and detained in custody must be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of such arrest. The petitioner was arrested on 31st January 2015 and admitted to SSKM Hospital without being produced before a magistrate within the stipulated 24-hour period. This action by the CBI officer was considered a violation of constitutional and legal provisions. The court emphasized that the police officer should have produced the petitioner before the magistrate within 24 hours after obtaining a medical examination, rather than admitting him to the hospital. The failure to produce the petitioner before the magistrate within the required period rendered the custody illegal and unconstitutional. 3. Validity of police custody beyond the first 15 days from the date of arrest: The court reiterated that police custody can only be ordered within the first 15 days from the date of arrest. After this period, only judicial custody is permissible. The court referred to several Supreme Court decisions, including Dinesh Dalmia v. CBI and Devender Kumar v. State of Haryana, which affirmed that police remand is limited to the initial 15-day period. In the present case, the order passed on 15th February 2015, remanding the petitioner to police custody till 21st February 2015, was beyond the first 15-day period and thus illegal. The court set aside the impugned order and allowed the criminal revision case. Conclusion: The court concluded that the police custody of the petitioner beyond the initial 15-day period was illegal and set aside the impugned order. The court directed the Registrar General to circulate a copy of the judgment to all District & Sessions Judges and the West Bengal Judicial Academy for sensitization of judicial magistrates. The criminal revision case was allowed, and no order as to costs was made.
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