Illegal handcuffing and roping during production in courts despite Supreme Court guidelines opined differently- IMPUNITY

BiplabMukherjee<> / 26 December 2017 at 12:13
To: ,
Cc: Chief Minister West Bengal <>, Chief Secretary Gov of WB <>, "DG & IGP, West Bengal Police." <>, "District Magistrate, Murshidabad" <>, Governor of West Bengal <>, MHA JS Human Rights <>, Registrar Calcutta High Court <>, SP Murshidabad <>, UN SR On Torture <>, "UN SR Special Rapporteur On Truth, Justice, Reparation" <>

To26.12.2017

The Chairman

National Human Rights Commission

ManavAdhikarBhawan

Block-C, G.P.O. Complex, INA

New Delhi-110023

Respected Sir,

I want to redraw your attention on the ongoing practice of roping and handcuffing of prisoners during their production before courts. In this regard our fact finding revealed that on 05.12.2017 the prisoners tied up with rope on their waist and were produced at Lalbagh Sub-Divisional Court, District-Murshidabad. There are several courts under Lalbagh Sub-Divisional Court dealing with criminal cases such as the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Judicial Magistrate Courts and Additional Sessions Court. The prisoners were either under trial prisoners or first time produced in court. The police personnel remove the ropes before their (prisoners) entry into the court room. But after hearing is over, they were again tied up with rope and taken back to court lock-up or correctional home in prison van. The captured pictures on 05.12.2017 are proof of the ongoing practice of tying the prisoners with ropes in the excuse of securing their custody.

From the pictures taken, it is visible that tying the prisoners with ropes is carried out by the police personnel as a general practice. Such practice is against the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India in several verdicts on using handcuff and other fetters on prisoners during transit from jail to court and back.

Despite the Supreme Court of India ordered prohibiting using handcuffing and other fetters, flagrant violations continue in West Bengal. Handcuffing and roping of detainees and prisoners remains widely prevalent despite judicial interpretation clearly establishing that it is against the protection of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is very painful when the relatives and the children of the prisoners see them with ropes and handcuffs in court premises.

No doubt that the use of handcuffs and ropes in securing the prisoners is a use of force and therefore it must stand the test of reasonableness where the following court verdicts held that no handcuff is the rule and issued guidelines for police and jail authorities to pass the test of reasonableness before putting handcuffs or other fetters on prisoners during transit from jail to court and back.

Major observations of Supreme Court of India

Prem Shankar Shukla –vs.- Delhi Administration 1980 SCC 526- The Supreme Court of India held that handcuffing is prima facie inhuman, and therefore unreasonable, is over harsh, and at first flush arbitrary.

Suni Gupta and others vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and others 1990 SCC (3) 119- The Supreme Court of India held that the handcuffing was unjustified and ordered its disapproval. It said that “ even if the extreme circumstances necessitate the escort party to bind the prisoners in fetters, the escort party should record the reasons for doing so in writing and intimate the court so that the Court considering the circumstances either approves or disapproves the action of the escort party and issue necessary directions”.

Citizens for Democracy vs. State of Assam and others-(1995)3SCC743- In this judgment the Supreme Court of India issued specific guidelines for putting handcuffs.

Under the circumstances, you are requested to look into the matter so that handcuffing and roping of the detainees in West Bengal in arbitrary way can be stopped immediately in compliance of the directives issued by the Supreme Court of India.

I also demand that the whole matter must be enquired into by one neutral enquiring agency preferably by the Commission’s own investigating wing and the perpetrators involved in this case must be punished accordingly.

Thanking You

Yours truly

BiplabMukherjee

Secretary, MASUM

Fettered during production before court