New Delhi: In a landmark judgment that will give huge relief to people facing arrest in dowry harassment cases, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said a person accused of an offence punishable with jail term, which may be less than or up to seven years, cannot be arrested by the police on the basis of mere allegations.
The apex court said the attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is “despicable” which must be curbed and directed all state governments to ensure that police do not resort to arresting in all offences punishable up to seven- year jail term including dowry harassment cases.
The bench headed by Justice C K Prasad said, “No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent and wise for a police officer that no arrest is made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness of the allegation.
The bench observed that in the six decades of independence, police still use this as a tool of harassment, oppression and courts have passed rulings to curtail the power of arrest but it has not yielded desired result. The apex court order came on a man’s plea in a dowry harassment case from Bihar.
The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A of IPC is as high as 93.6%, while the conviction rate is only 15%, which is lowest across all heads. As many as 3,72,706 cases are pending trial of which on current estimate, nearly 3,17,000 are likely to result in acquittal.”
Bureau Report
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