Kerala High Court: Arrest without warrant in absence of knowledge

The Kerala High Court observed and reiterated in the case Anand Mahadevan V State Of Kerala that the police cannot arrest a person under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, arrest in order to prevent the commission of cognizable offences, which being without knowledge of the existence of a design to commit a cognizable offence and a belief that the commission of the offence can only be prevented when the said person is being arrested.

In the case, the single bench led by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed that the police have been given the extraordinary power of arresting a person without a warrant if they have knowledge of a plan to commit a cognizable offence, and it is critical to avoid strict interpretation of section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for misuse of any such power.

In the aforementioned case, the plea was considered by the court by a practising advocate against whom a FIR had been filed alleging that he is a threat to the maintenance of public order. Furthermore, the court noted that he was released from the police station immediately after his arrest was recorded.

 The court also warned that misusing Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure would be a violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

The court in the case observed that, despite the fact that a FIR was filed against the petitioner under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, there was no evidence that the police had knowledge of a plan to commit an offence. The court has also ruled that in such a case, the filing of the FIR against the petitioner is an abuse of the court’s process. Furthermore, the court stated that the registration of the crime hangs like a damocles sword over the petitioner’s head, while invoking powers stated in Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to quash the proceedings initiated against the petitioner.

At last, not least Advocate Appu Ajith represented the petitioner, and Seetha. S, the Public Prosecutor, represented the state.

Written by: Shivangi 2 Semester (BBA.LLB ) CHRIST UNIVERSITY, DELHI, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

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