A GUIDE TO SURVIVING IPC 498A

A GUIDE TO SURVIVING IPC 498A The Supreme Court Of India, Joginder Kumar Vs State Of U.P., 1994

The Supreme Court described the way the police treated Nidhi, the victim, in the following manner: surrounding circumstances I er family members were brought in to pressurise her into implicating them. nner: alculated to From“Pay The

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• eirs. Time judgment. Upon such payment it will be  concerned police officers.  d torture by the police. t from the salary of the guilty officers.  gra (Delhi HC, WP (Crl.) No. 988/2007, 10.10.2007) says: fidely f the arrest of the petitioner in a criminal case was illegal, unless on the mental stress and strain and to remain always

“On a careful consideration of all the evidence on record in the light of the accept the claim of Nidhi that she was tortured by the police officers on 24th, 25th and 26th July, 1993. On 24.7.93 she was pressurised by J.C. Upadhyaya S.H.O., Sukhpal Singh, S.S.I, and Narendrapal Singh S.I. and threatened and commanded to implicate her husband and his family in a case of abduction and forcible marriage thereafter. She was threatened with physical violence to her husband and to herself in case of her default and when she refused h On 25th July 1993 she was jolted out of sleep by Sukhpal Singh S.S.I. and made to remain standing for a long time. She was abused and jostled and threatened by J.C. Upadhyay, Sukhpal Singh and Narendrapal Singh with injury to her body if she did not write down the dictated note. Sukhpal Singh SSI even assaulted her on her leg with Danda and poked it in her stomach.  She did not yield to the pressure.”  The Ho’nble judge then went on to define torture in the following ma“Torture is not merely physical, there may be mental torture and psychological torture ccreate fright and submission to the demands or commands. When the threats proceed from a person in Authority and that too by a police officer the mental torture caused by it is even more grave”  this judgment, it is very clear that each time our families are threatened by the police with the old threat of up, or else...”, or “confess or else...” they are subjecting them to torture. court then went on to pass the following orders:

The State of Uttar Pradesh will take immediate steps to launch prosecution against all the police officers involved in this sordid affair.  The State shall pay a compensation of Rs. 10,000 to Nidhi, Rs. 10,000 to Charanjit Singh Bagga and Rs. 5,000 to each of the other persons who were illegally detained and humiliated for no fault of thorn making payment will be three months from the date of this open to the State to recover personally the amount of compensation from theegal detention anThis judgment makes it clear that a citizen can claim compensation for illThe icing on the cake will be if the state recovers the compensation amounWhen to File For Compensation For Illegal Detention: Justice Shiv Narain Dhin“When a criminal case is registered against somebody, the Court cannot jump to conclusion, merely on the basis of FIR, whether the case was a false case or a truthful case and whether the petitioner has been malaarrested or has been rightly arrested. FIR is merely first information given to the police so as to bring machinery of criminal law in motion. FIR is not considered as an encyclopedia of facts. It is only after challan is filed, the Court can form an opinion, at the time of framing of charge, whether a case was made out against the accused worth trial or not. If the evidence collected by the prosecution does not disclose commission of any offence, by the accused even prima facie, the Court has to discharge the accused. The accused at that stage can lay a claim that the case was got registered against him malafidely and police also acted malafidely. Even after charge is framed, on conclusion of trial if a Court finds that no case was made out against the accused and he was falsely implicated, the Court is bound to acquit the accused and that will be the second stage whether accused gets a right to claim that he was falsely implicated. The present Writ Petition filed by the petitioner has not been filed after discharge of the petitioner or after acquittal of the petitioner. In a Writ Petition this Court cannot declare iface of it, it appears that it was a case where no arrest could have been made.” Inordinate Delay In Police Investigation May Lead To A Quashed FIR: If you are amongst those against whom an FIR has been filed but no further action has been taken, then you may be able to get the FIR quashed as per this judgment. Here is the ruling by the SC (State of Andhra Pradesh vs P.V. Pavithran, 1990), which held that:  “A lethargic and lackadaisical manner of investigation over a prolonged period makes an accused in a criminal proceeding to live every moment under extreme emotional and Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 13/22 11/9/07 under a fear psychosis. Therefore, it is imperative that if investigation of a criminal proceeding staggers on The

The esident Vs. State of Assam & Others: 1996 Cr.L.J. er or  characteristics of each individual e nature or length of sentence or the number of convictions rele Art A

The SuMahar as women.The CusThe

TheH.Kwonthatprostly clear that if icer in charge of a police station, such with tardy pace due to the indolence and inefficiency of the investigating agency causing unreasonable and substantial delay resulting in grave prejudice or disadvantage to the accused, the Court as the protector of the right and personal liberty of the citizen will step in and resort to the drastic remedy of quashing further proceedings in such investigation. However, there are offences of grave magnitude, which would necessarily involve considerable time for unearthing the crimes and bringing the culprits to book. Therefore, it is not possible to formulate inflexible guidelines or rigid principles of uniform application for speedy investigation or to stipulate any arbitrary period of limitation within which investigation in a criminal case should be completed.” Police Do Not Have A Right To Handcuff You:  Supreme Court (Citizen for Democracy through its, pr324“As a rule it shall be the rule that handcuffs or other fetters shall not be7) has held that:  forced on a prisoner – convicted or under –trial – while transporting or in transit form one jail to another or from jail to Court and back.  The police and the jail authorities on their own, shall have no authority without obtaining order from Magistrate to direct the handcuffing of any inmate of a jail in the country or during transport from one jail to another from jail to court and track.  The relevant considerations for putting a prisoner in fetters are the character antecedents and propensities of the prisoner.  The peculiar and special prisoner has to be taken into consideration.  Thor the gruesome character of the crime the prisoner is alleged to have committed are not by themselves vant considerations.” resnd Custody Of Women: preme Court (Christian Community Welfare Council of India and another Vs. Government of htra  & another: 1995 Cr.L.J. 4223 (Bombay)) has laid out procedure for the arrest and detention of  Here is an excerpt:  “The State Government should issue instructions immediately in unequivocal and unambiguous terms to all concerned that no female person shall be detained or arrested without the presence of lady constable and inno case, after sun set and before sun-rise”

The Police Cannot Detain A Citizen For The Purpose Of An Inquiry/Interrogation: Bombay High Court (Ashak Hussain Allah Detha, alias Siddique and another Vs. Assistant Collector of toms (P) Bombay and another: 1999 Cr.L.J. 2201(Bombay)) has held that: “The investigating Officers may lawfully detain a suspect for an offence. But detention in custody for interrogation is not authorized by law. The investigating Officers may detain for an offence only. Any restrain on a person’s liberty except for an offence is illegal. There is no authority in the investigating Officers to detain a person for the purpose of interrogation or helping them in the enquiry.”  Police Must Register A Cognizable Offence: Supreme Court (Lallan Chaudhary & Ors Vs State of Bihar & Anr. DATE: 12/10/2006. BENCH: .SEMA & P.K.BALASUBRAMANYAN) has held that the police must register a cognizable complaint. If you dered why the case was registered, though the complaint was flimsy, this is the reason. But the law also says upon investigation, if the complaint was proved to be false, then the officer can recommend criminal ceedings under section 182. Here is the excerpt: “Section 154 of the Code thus casts a statutory duty upon police officer to register the case, as disclosed in the complaint, and then to proceed with the investigation. The mandate of Section 154 is manife any information disclosing a cognizable offence is laid before an offpolice officer has no other option except to register the case on the basis of such information.” The Delhi HC (Priya Gupta Vs The State. Date Of Decision: 20.04.2007. Hon'ble Justice Reva Khetrapal) has held that:  Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com  14/22 11/9/07

“It is, therefore, manifestly clear that if any information disclosing a cognizable offence is laid before an officer in charge of a police station satisfying the requirements of Section 154(1) of the Code, the said police officer has no other option except to enter the substance thereof in the prescribed form, that is to say, to register a case on the basis of such information. Hon'ble judge also goes on to say that:

The “Indisputably, if as a result of the investigation, if it was subsequently found that the allegations made in the complaint could not be substantiated or were false, the investigating agency would have been at liberty to recommend initiation of criminal proceedings against the complainant in terms of Section 182 I.P.C." FIR Is A PublAn ic Document: of the FIR to the accused. The reality is that an FIR is a S THE STATE OF GUJARAT, JUDGE: B C PATEL, DATE: 13/03/19):

The Right To A Speedy Trial: the Right to a speedy trial is a Fundamental Right. Here are two cases where he State Of Bihar Date Of Judgment: 08/10/1998

TheIn quite a few cases, the police do not provide a copypublic document. Here is an excerpt from a judgment from the Gujarat High Court (JAYANTIBHAI

LALUBHAI PATEL V“Whenever FIR is registered against the accused, a copy of it is forwarded to the Court under provisions of the Code; thus it becomes a public document. Considering (1) the provisions of Art. 21 of the Constitution of India, (2) First Information Report is a public document in view of S. 74 of the Evidence Act; (3) Accused gets right as allegations are made against him under provisions of S. 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, and (4) FIR is a document to which S. 162 of the Code does not apply and is of considerable value as on that basis investigation commenced and that is the first version of the prosecution, as and when application is made by accused for a certified copy of the complaint, the Court to which it is forwarded should give certified copy of the FIR, if the application and legal fees thereof have been tendered for the same in the Court of law.” The Supreme Court has ruled thatthey have done so:

• Hussainara Khatoon & Ors.Vs.Home Secretary, State Of Bihar Date Of Judgment12/02/1979

• Raj Deo Sharma Vs.T Supreme Court has held that: “The accused in these cases might have been on bail - but the injustice of pendency of trial for long periods is

the uncertainty and the concomitant anxiety suffered by the under-trial. The under-trial is inhibited in making future plans for his life or executing present ones due to the uncertainty which pendency of trial brings. His confidence starts to erode and at the end of the trial, even if he is honorably acquitted, the scars of the long trial remain. He feels condemned despite the acquittal.” The UniSupunder Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The State under Right To Information: Supreme Court has held that the right to information is a fundamental right. In its judgment (People’s on for Civil Liberties and another Vs Union of India and others. Justice S. B. Sinha. Date:06 Jan 2004) the reme Court has said that: “Right of information is a fundamental rightClause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution, however, is entitled to impose reasonable restrictions inter alia in the interest of the State.” The govt authority needs to provide information within 48Hrs if rights under life and liberty are affected. An RTI is a useful weapon if the police are holding members of your family. The Right To Be Given A Reason:

The failure you of the decision ctivity. The emphasis on recording reasons is that if the decision reveals the "inscrutable face of the sphinx", it can, by its silence, render it virtually impossible for the Courts to perform their appellate function Supreme Court (Daya Ram Vs Raghunath & Ors DATE: 15/06/2007) has stated that there to give reasons is denial of justice. This is a recent judgment and is very useful if the magistrate is denying r bail application and no reason is given.  Here is an excerpt:  “Failure to give reasons amounts to denial of justice. Reasons are live links between the mind taker to the controversy in question and the decision or conclusion arrived at. Reasons substitute subjectivity by object Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 15/22 11/9/07 or exercise the power of judicial review in adjudging the validity of the decision. Right to reasons is an indispensable part of a sound judicial system, reasons at least sufficient to indicate an application of mind to the matter before Court. Another rationale is that the affected party can know why the decision has gone against him. One of the salutary requirements of natural justice is spelling out reasons for the order made, in rutable face of a sphinx" is ordinarily incongruous with a judicial or The Thiarents. to shared household and defines the meaning of a shared household. If your ing residence undpareproin tproTheip. He tedly the respondent had lived in the property in question in the past, hence the  and wife d parents, nterpretation canvassed by the relied upon Section 19(1)(f) of the Act and be given an alternative accommodation. In our opinion, the claim for alternative other words, a speaking out. The  "inscquasi-judicial performance.” Right To Residence Under The Domestic Violence Act: s judgment of the Supreme Court (Batra Vs Batra. Mar 2007) is of paramount importance to your pThis judgment defines the rightparents or siblings own the house you live in, then, the right of your spouse to reside in the same house, under the DV Act, does not apply. I am including this judgment here, as the right to residence under the DV is being used for extortion. The economy is booming and in every city, real estate prices are going up. By claimer the DV Act, an attempt is made to grab or lock down the property to extort money. Think about it; the nts are facing a 498A and to top it, the accuser files a right to residence to harass them and worse, the tection officer grants it because he doesn’t know the rules.  How long will these senior citizens and retirees last hese circumstances, if they are denied the right to live in peace in their own homes and their rightfully earned perty is being denied to them? 

 Supreme Court in this judgment says: “19. Learned Counsel for the respondent Smt. Taruna Batra stated that the definition of shared household includes a household where the person aggrieved lives or at any stage had lived in a domestic relationshcontended that since admitsaid property is her shared household We cannot agree with this submission.  20. If the aforesaid submission is accepted, then it will mean that wherever the husband and wife lived together in the past that property becomes a shared household. It is quite possible that the husbandsband's paternal granmay have lived together in dozens of places e.g. with the husband's father, hunts, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces etc. If the ihis maternal parents, uncles, aulearned Counsel for the respondent is accepted, all these houses of the husband's relatives will be shared households and the wife can well insist in living in the all these houses of her husband's relatives merely because she had stayed with her husband for some time in those houses in the past. Such a view would lead to chaos and would be absurd.. It is well settled that any interpretation which leads to absurdity should not be accepted. 

21. Learned Counsel for the respondent Smt. Taruna Batra has claimed that she should accommodation can only be made against the husband and not against the husband's in-laws or other relatives. 

22. As regards Section 17(1) of the Act, in our opinion the wife is only entitled to claim a right to residence in a shared household, and a 'shared household' would only mean the house belonging to or taken on rent by the husband, or the house which belongs to the joint family of which the husband is a member. The property in question in the present case neither belongs to Amit Batra nor was it taken on rent by him nor is it a joint old'.” An Adult Male Person: taining any relief under this Act an application family property of which the husband Amit Batra is a member, it is the exclusive property of appellant No. 2, mother of Amit Batra. Hence it cannot be called a 'shared house DV Act Can Only Be Filed Against In yet another blessing in the form of a High Court judgment, the MP High Court (Miscellaneous Criminal Case No.1266/07), ruled that:

“Thus, it is clear by the definition of respondent that for obcan be filed or a proceeding can be initiated against only adult male person and on such application or under such proceeding, aforementioned protection order can be passed. Obviously those orders will also be passed only against the adult male person.” Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 16/22 11/9/07

I am wom ComIf yo and Dhingra. Justice Dhingra, (Smt Neera Singh Vs State Of Delhi, Delhi HC, Feb 2007) had given a landmark rovisions of law while entertaining such complaints and action is taken merely without any verification that a large number of false complaints are JustpurvCAW

Theno pThejust thankful that the tyranny of the DV Act will be limited to the adult male members of the family and the en will be spared. pliance With The Dowry Prohibition Act:  u find that the 498A wife has charged that you had huge sums of money at the time of marriage in the FIR,  you are wondering how to prove your innocence, then thank god for the judgments of Justice Shiv Narain judgment that deals with this issue: “Now-a-days, exorbitant claims are made about the amount spent on marriage and other ceremonies and on dowry and gifts. In some cases claim is made of spending crores of rupees on dowry without disclosing the source of income and how funds flowed. I consider time has come that courts should insist upon disclosing source of such funds and verification of income from tax returns and police should insist upon the compliance of the Rules under Dowry Prohibition Act and should not entertain any complaint, if the rules have not been complied with.  If huge cash amounts are alleged to be given at the time of marriage which are not accounted anywhere, such cash transactions should be brought to the notice of the Income Tax Department by the Court so that source of income is verified and the person is brought to law. It is only because the Courts are not insisting upon compliance with the relevant pon the statement of the complainant, pouring in.” ice Dhingra also ruled in this judgment that taunting, though a despicable act by itself, does not fall under the iew of mental cruelty under 498A. Cell Proceedings Are Voluntary:  Delhi HC in two consecutive ruling has held that the proceedings of the CAW cells are voluntary. They have ower to enforce an appearance. I quote: “It is made clear that CAW Cell has no authority to secure the presence of any person either by coercion or by threat. CAW Cell is only a conciliatory body where efforts are made for conciliation with the free will of the parties. If any person is not willing to go to CAW Cell, he cannot be compelled. It is also directed that CAW Cell, in future, instead of issuing summons to the parties shall send request letters asking them to appear for the purpose of conciliation and not for the purpose of investigation. The petitioner is at liberty not to appear before CAW Cell. No threat or coercive steps shall be taken by the CAW Cell.” link to the judgment/order is given here: (http://tinyurl.com/2gf5wo) es Of Jurisdiction: ly, the lovely 498A wives have been filing cases against their hubbies and in-laws in a different city just to ss them. NIssu Late haraot to worry. The Supreme Court, (Y.Abraham Ajith and Ors. Vs. Inspector of Police, Chennai 200I quote the above explanation from a judgment of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog of the Delhi High Court. I have /yvudc74), ruled on the issue of jurisdiction. This was a 498A case:

“Under Section 177 of the Code of Criminal procedure, 1973 an offence shall ordinarily be enquired into and tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction offence was committed. In the decision reported as 2004 (2) CC Cases (SC) 289, Y.Abraham Ajith and Ors. Vs. Inspector of Police, Chennai, it was held that where no part of cause of action arose within the jurisdiction of a concerned court, proceedings before the Magistrate had to be quashed.” enclosed a link to the judgment/order (http://tinyurl.com).   Please read the contents of this link http://tinyurl.com/2mbsxz to clearly understand issues of jurisdiction.

NB It is race of since to issue Non Bail able Warrants without adequate justification, a practice the Supreme Court (Appeal (crl.) 1392 of 2007, 09/10/2007) decried. Here is an excerpt of that ruling: Ws And Arrest Warrants: a matter of debate that there has been a decline in the quality of the magistrates in the lower courts. The most nt illustration of this occurred when the Delhi HC sent a magistrate back to the Judicial Academy for an act tupidity. There has also been a tendCopyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 17/22 11/9/07

“When non-bailable warrants should be issued: Non-bailable warrant should be issued to bring a person to court when summons of bailable warrants would ld be when:   of the opinion that a summon will suffice in getting the appearance of the

. If the accused seem to be avoiding the summons, the court, in the second instance should nce both personal liberty and societal interest before issuing warrants. There cannot be any us crime and it is feared that he is likely to tamper or destroy the evidence ance of non-bailable warrants should be avoided.  The In mcrueact case of 2id that the behavior patterns  that the marriage between the parties wn and qualified to be the ground for divorce.: In aof ih such h as to f the petitioner. While arriving at such conclusion, regard must be had to the social t be unlikely to have the desired result. This cou

• it is reasonable to believe that the person will not voluntarily appear in court; or 

• the police authorities are unable to find the person to serve him with a summon; or 

• it is considered that the person could harm someone if not placed into custody immediately. 

As far as possible, if the court isaccused in the court, the summon or the bailable warrants should be preferred. The warrants either bailable or non-bailable should never be issued without proper scrutiny of facts and complete application of mind, due to the extremely serious consequences and ramifications which ensue on issuance of warrants. The court must very carefully examine whether the Criminal Complaint or FIR has not been filed with an oblique motive.  In complaint cases, at the first instance, the court should direct serving of the summons along with the copy of the complaintissue bailable- warrant. In the third instance, when the court is fully satisfied that the accused is avoiding the court s proceeding intentionally, the process of issuance of the non-bailable warrant should be resorted to. Personal liberty is paramount, therefore, we caution courts at the first and second instance to refrain from issuing non-bailable warrants. 

The power being discretionary must be exercised judiciously with extreme care and caution. The court should properly balastraight-jacket formula for issuance of warrants but as a general rule, unless an accused is charged with the commission of an offence of a heinoor is likely to evade the process of law, issue The Court should try to maintain proper balance between individual liberty and the interest of the public and the State while issuing non-bailable warrant.”

 Definition of Mental Cruelty: ost cases, a 498A complaint will consist of a few lines alleging a single or maybe a few instances of mental lty. That’s all it takes for the police to literally run after the accused to arrest them. The reality is that a stray does not constitute mental cruelty. There are many judgments dealing with mental cruelty. In the most recent

, while pronouncing a judgment on divorce on the grounds of cruelty, the Supreme Court (Appeal (civil) 151 004 Samar Ghosh Vs Jaya Ghosh DATE OF JUDGMENT: 26/03/2007) has saso mentioned must persist over a period of time to warrant the conclusionhad irretrievably broken do“Mental cruelty is a state of mind; the feeling of deep anguish, disappointment, frustration in one spouse caused by the conduct of the other for a long time might constitute mental cruelty. So would a sustained course of abusive and humiliating treatment calculated to torture or render miserable the life of the spouse, and sustained unjustifiable conduct and behavior of one spouse actually affecting physical and mental health of the other”. nother judgment, the Supreme Court (GVN Kameswara Rao Vs. G. Jabilli- (2002) 2 SCC 296) taking note ts earlier decision in the case of (1994) 1 SCC 337, V. Bhagat Vs. D. Bhagat, observed that: - 

''Mental cruelty in Section 13(1)(i-a) can broadly be defined as that conduct which inflicts upon the other party such mental pain and suffering as would make it not possible for that party to live with the other. In other words, mental cruelty must be of such a nature that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together. The situation must be such that the wronged party cannot reasonably be asked to put up witconduct and continue to live with the other party. It is not necessary trove that the mental cruelty is successes injury to the health ostatus, educational level of the parties, the society they move in, the possibility or otherwise of the parties ever living together in case they are already living apart and all other relevant facts and circumstances which it is neither possible nor desirable to set out exhaustively. What is cruelty in one case may not amount to cruelty in another case. It is a matter to be determined in each case having regard to the facts and circumstances of the Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 18/22 11/9/07 case. If it is a case of accusations and allegations, regard must also be had to the context in which they were then to action based on a complaint detailing a single act of mentdivorced on the basis of menther spouse. Why do theat bestA D The "Bire iate proximity of the marriage or thereabout, the bail should be granted. It An Tiwle offence has been committed, in appropriate cases and a remedy by invoking the power of the High Court under Article 226 of the Sommade.''  reason I added this judgment here is that the police swing ial cruelty and calling it dowry harassment. People go to the Supreme Court to get tal cruelty. It is tough to get divorced, even if there is a sustained pattern of abuse by ei police act with such haste to arrest people on complaints based on allegations, which are flimsy?

rection On Granting Bail:  following direction was given by Chief Justice of Jharkhand Mr V. K. Gupta on 11.07.2001 against a case endra Jha v/s The State of Jharkhand , A.B.A No. 4654 of 2001". “On the question of grant of bail to accused I may also observe that there is another category of offencwhere normally bail should be granted and refusal should be an exception. I’m talking of offences under Section 498A I.P.C. and Section 4 of the Dowry Provision Act, 1961.… In those cases where it is manifestly clear, on a plain reading of the police report or the contents of the private complaint that neither any grievous injury has been inflicted upon the alleged victim nor is there any other clear proof of the alleged victim having physically suffered and that there is also no serious allegation supported with positive proof of dowry having been demanded in the immedhappens quite often that in ordinary matrimonial disputes or where there is some discordant note in a matrimonial relationship, the woman as an alleged victim sets in motion 498A.” NOTE: I have been unable to find the complete judgment. If anyone has it, please inform a SIF volunteer. Explanation Of Writ Mandamus: This is a judgment from 1970. The case is S.M. Sharma Vs. Bipen Kumar ari. Here is an excerpt: 

“It appears to us that, though the Code of Criminal Procedure gives to the police unfettered power to investigate all cases where they suspect that a cognizabaggrieved person can always seek Constitution under which, if the High Court could be convinced that the power of investigation has been exercised by a police officer mala fide, the High Court can always issue a writ of mandamus restraining the police officer from misusing his legal power” Officers With Authority To Investigate 498A Cases: It is a myth that officers of the rank of DSP are the only ones empowered to investigate 498A cases. Here is a ruling from the Chennai High Court (Crl.OP.No. 32871 of 2004 And CRL.M.P.NO.10462 OF 2004 AND 544 OF 2005) which states who can investigate a 498A case: “The further contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the investigation should have been done only by the Deputy Superintendent of Police who is defined as police officer under the Rules and not by the Inspector of Police, cannot be countenanced. The Rule is a subordinate legislation and the provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code give full power on the Inspector of Police to proceed with the matter and apart from that, the definition for Police officer would clearly reveal as submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor that nowhere there is a prohibition that below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police shall not exercise the power to investigate the case and hence the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners in this regard cannot be countenanced.” e Relevant Sections Of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): An Explanation Of Section 182 IPC (6 Months+ Jail For Filing False Complaints): Here is an explanation of Section 182 from the Punjab And Haryana High Court (Harbhajan Singh Bajwa Vs Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala Criminal Misc. No. 9841-M of 2000, dated April 18, 2000): “Whenever any information is given to the authorities and when the said authority found that the averments made in the complaint were false, it is for the said authority to initiate action under Section 182 I.P.C. The offence under Section 182 I.P.C. is punishable with imprisonment for a period of six months or with fine or with both. When the authorities themselves found in the years 1996 and 1997 Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 19/22 11/9/07 after due investigation that the averments made by Ashwani Kumar in his complaint were false, it is for them to initiate proceedings immediately or within the prescribed period as provided under Section 468 Code of Criminal Procedure. The acceptance of the cancellation report by the Court is immaterial. It does not save the limitation under Section 468 Cr.P.C., which prescribes the period of one year for taking cognizance if offence is punishable, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year. Since the offence under Section 182 I.P.C. is punishable with imprisonment for a period of six months only, the authority should file the complaint under Section 182 I.P.C. within one year from the date when that authority found that the allegations made in the complaint were false. Since more than four years lapsed  either description for a term which may extend to seven years, This is the CHRI from the date when the authority found the allegations were false, no question of filing any complaint under Section 182 I.P.C. at this belated stage arises.” Section 182 is the offence of giving false information to a public servant. This section is important as it allows the acquitted to press for criminal charges against the filers of the false 498A. Section 182 is a non-cognizable offence. To pursue a case under Section 182, an application under section 155 of CrPC needs to be made to a magistrate, whose consent is required to investigate non-cognizable offences. The best example of Section 182 is in the Rahul Mahajan case when the police went after the doctors of Apollo hospital for faking the toxicology report. 

There are a couple of other sections of the IPC, sections 211 and 358 of IPC. Section 211 provides punishment for making a wrong complaint and false charges of offence. Similarly Section 358 of Cr. P.C. deals with cases of groundless arrests. Section 330 Of The IPC (Protection From Extortion Of Confession By The Police): Section 330 of the IPC is meant to protect you from the police who extract a confession by extra legal means. This is what the section says: Voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property: Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information, which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security or to satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment ofand shall also be liable to fine.

Illustrations: (a) A, a police-officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section.

(b) A, a police-officer, tortures B to induce him to point out where certain stolen property is deposited. A is guilty of an offence under this section.

(c) A, a revenue officer, tortures Z in order to compel him to pay certain arrears of revenue due from Z. A is guilty of an offence under this section.

(d) A, a Zamindar, tortures a raiyat in order to compel him to pay his rent. A is guilty of an offence under this section. Process Of Indian Criminal Justice: e outline of the process of criminal justice. I got this from . It has the following steps:  of criminal justice is initiated with the

2. mai

1. Registration of the First Information Report (FIR). The process registration of the First Information Report. The FIR is a written document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence.  You have the right to see the FIR.  The police officer proceeds to the scene of crime and investigates the facts of the case. Police investigation nly includes:  Examination of the scene of crime. Examination of witnesses and suspects. Recording of statements. Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 20/22 11/9/07

3. Aftemag Cod The gucommunJuly 4, 1which toConducting searches. Seizing property. Collecting fingerprint, footprint and other scientific evidence.  Consulting records and making entries in the prescribed records, like case diary, daily diary, station diary etc.  Making arrests and detentions (Justifications need to be provided). Interrogation of the accused  r completion of investigation, the officer in charge of the police station sends a report to the area istrate. The report sent by the investigating officer is in the form of a charge sheet, if there is sufficient ence to prosecute the accused. If sufficient evidence is evidnot available, such a report is called the final report.  On receiving the charge sheet, the court takes cognizance and initiates the trial of the case.  The charges are framed. The procedure requires the prosecution to prove the charges against the accused beyond a shadow of doubt. The accused is given a full opportunity to defend himself.  If the trial ends in conviction, the court may award any of the following punishments: 

• Fine.

• Forfeiture of property.

• Simple imprisonment.

• Rigorous imprisonment. Imprisonment for life.

• Death Sentence.

• The Death Penalty e Of Conduct For The Police In India: idelines for the code of conduct for the police were issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and icated to Chief Secretaries of all States/ Union Territories and Heads of Central Police Organizations on 985. I sourced this from CHRI. A guideline is a statement or other indication of policy or procedure by  determine a course of action, in other words, this is binding policy.

1. The police must bear faithful allegiance to the Constitution of India and respect and uphold the rights of the citiz

2. The propriety or necessity of any law duly enacted. They should enforce the law firmally, without fear or favor, malice or vindictiveness.  ens as guaranteed by it.   Police should not question thely and imparti

3. The police should recognize and respect the limitations of their powers and functions. They should not usurp or even ciary and sit in judgment on cases to avenge individuals and seem to usurp the functions of the judipunish t

4. In secure police should as far as practicable, use the methodirreducinces should be used. 

5. The pritheir effe of both and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.  he guilty.  ing the observance of law or in maintaining order, ths of persuasion, advice and warning. When the application of force becomes inevitable, only the ble minimum of force required in the circumstame duty of the police is to prevent crime and disorder and the police must recognize that the test of iciency is the absenc

6. The police must recognize that they are members of the public, with the only difference that in the interest of the society and on its behalf they are employed to give full time attention to duties, which are normally incumbent on every citizen to perform. 

7. The police should realize that the efficient performance of their duties would be dependent on the extent of ready cooperation that they receive from the public. This, in turn, will depend on their ability to secure public approval of their conduct and actions and to earn and retain public respect and confidence. 

8. The police should always keep the welfare of the people in mind and be sympathetic and considerate towards them. They should always be ready to offer individual service and friendship and render necessary assistance  social standing.  to all without regard to their wealth and / orCopyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 21/22 11/9/07

9. elace duty before self, should maintain calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule  sacrifice their lives in protecting those of others.  The  police should always pand should be ready to

10. Hold be dependable and impartial; they The police should always be courteous and well mannered; they sshould possess dignity and courage; and should cultivate character and the trust of the people. * Issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and communicated to Chief Secretaries of all States/ Union Territories and Heads of Central Police Organizations on July 4, 1985 48  the fundamental basis of the prestige of th

11. e police. Recognizing this, the

12.  rise above personal nistic or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of omections of society. The HacuThe Musted on Friday, June 22, 2007, ran the story of Baban Dhus, 52, a teacher in a BMC scoice arrested him on December 3, 2006 after his daughter-in-law Vaishali filed a complaith his family were harassing her for dowry. Vaishali’s husband Nivrutti, her mother-in-law AlkaDyaneshwar and his wife Jyoti were also held.  All five were given bail two days later on tedhan that Vaishali had brought along at the time of her marriage in Math fouIntegrity of the highest order is police must keep their private lives scrupulously clean, develop self-restraint and be truthful and honest in thought and deed, in both personal and official life, so that the public may regard them as exemplary citizens.  The police should recognize that their full utility to the State is best ensured only by maintaining a high  obedience to the standard of discipline, faithful performance of duties in accordance with law and implicitlawful directions of commanding ranks and absolute loyalty to the force and by keeping themselves in the state of constant training and preparedness. 

13. As members of a secular, democratic state, the police should strive continually toand promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India, prejudices scending religious, lingutraen and disadvantaged swndffed School Teacher:  ombai Mirror, in an article pi polho l. The Kalachowkat her husband anntd, Nivrutti’s elder brotherhe condition that they would return the Sthrey 2006.  When the police took Dhus to his Sewri home so that he could hand over the Sthreedhan, they parked police vehicle well outside his colony. Dhus was handcuffed and paraded all the way to his house, and the other r were made to walk behind him, hands folded. You can read the full story here (http://tinyurl.com/2u9pbp). e is a question for you. Which one of the Supreme Court judgments did thHere police violate? Do you think this wouI believer rights, as you may undergo the same persecution as this school teacher. The eduCommifixation. Can you expect a semi skillCan youthe eyesI wild have happened if this teacher knew his Fundamental Rights? that you need to know youcational qualifications for a constable are 10th or 12th pass, depending upon the state, and The Fifth Pay ssion classified a constable as a semi-skilled laborer for the purpose of payed laborer to know and respect your rights?  imagine Union Minister Arjun Singh or members of his family handcuffed? Why not? Aren’t we all equal in  of the law? sh to thank the AP CID. They had an excellent website  (http://www.cidap.gov.in/) containing stats, judgments er information. I’ve sourced many of my judgments from their website (and othhttp://tinyurl.com/3ab4rf), and I to acknowledge that. Unfortunately, the website is no longer functioning. wanted Anyway, I discovered that they sourced all this from a document from the BPRD called “Path Breaking Judgements on Police”. Here is the link: nyurl.com/29m6mshttp://ti

.  It am egoons fodisseminKeeIndian pRead onxperience of my famaaz s me that with so many laws, judgments and guidelines in place, the police continue to conduct themselves as r hire than a force to enforce and uphold the law. It also amazes me that this information was never widely ated by the central or state governments. p a copy of this document with you for reference. This may turn out to be the shield you need when facing the olice.   to understand what your interaction with the Indian police may be like. I detailed the eily, s this is what we had to endure. Copyright: ipc498A.wordpress.com 22/22 A GUIDE TO SURVIVING IPC 498A