Theme: Police & Courts

Who are the authorities under the law?

The Constitution of India, 1950 empowers the Supreme Court1 and High Courts(( Article 215, Constitution of India, 1950.)) to have the powers to punish for contempt. This means that if a person is held for contempt against any Subordinate Court like the District Court, the respective High Courts of the State shall have the power to punish such a person.(( Section 10, Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.)) Here, the term ‘High Court’ will also include the court of the Judicial Commissioner in a Union Territory.((  Section 2(d), Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.))

Subordinate Courts do not have the power to punish for contempt of courts,(( Delhi Judicial Service Association, Tis Hazari Court v. the State of Gujarat, (1991) 4 SCC 406.)) and they have to rely on their respective High Courts to punish those held for contempt.(( Section 10, Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.))

Tribunals and contempt of court

Some tribunals have the power to punish for contempt. However, one would have to look at the law establishing the tribunal to see whether that particular tribunal has the power to punish for contempt and to know the procedure before the tribunal. For example, the Central Administrative Tribunal has the independent power to punish for contempt,(( Section 17, Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.))  as well as the Industrial Tribunal has such powers.2

  1. Article 129, Constitution of India, 1950. [↩]
  2.  Industrial Disputes (Appellate Tribunal) Act, 1950. [↩]

Rights of Victims and Witnesses

This special law guarantees certain rights to the victims, their dependents and those acting as witness to the complaints filed under this law. These rights are:

Protection from violence

  • Victims, their dependents and witnesses must be protected from any kind of intimidation, coercion, inducement, violence or even threats of violence. 
  • The investigation officer or the Station House Officer must record the complaint of a victim, informant or witnesses by way of an FIR if they are being intimidated, coerced, induced, harassed or even threatened with violence. A copy of the FIR must be given to them free of cost. 

Right to be treated with Dignity

  • Victims should be treated with fairness, respect and dignity. If there are any special needs of victims owing to their age, gender or educational disadvantage, the same must be given due regard.

Rights in  Court

  • The Special Public Prosecutor or the government officials must inform the victims or their dependents of any court proceedings about to take place under this law. They have a right to reasonable, accurate and timely notice of any court proceedings, even when the accused person applies for bail. 
  • The victims or their dependents have the right to request production of documents, materials or witnesses from other parties by making a request to the Special Court. 
  • Victims and their dependents have a right to be heard in proceedings related to the bail, discharge, release, parole, conviction or sentence of the accused person. They also have a right to make written submissions on conviction, acquittal or sentencing of the accused person. 
  • All court proceedings under this law must be video recorded. 

Special Protection

  • The Special Court must provide the victim, their dependent, witnesses or informants: 
    • Complete protection to ensure delivery of justice
    • Travelling and maintenance expenses during investigation, inquiry and trial
    • Socio-economic rehabilitation during investigation, inquiry and trial
    • Relocation 
  • Either the Special Public Prosecutor or the victims, their dependents, witnesses and informants can make an application to the Special Court to: 
    • Conceal their names and addresses of the witnesses in the orders, judgements or any records of the case that are publicly available. 
    • Issue directions to not disclose the identity and address of the witnesses. 
    • Take immediate action on a complaint relating to the harassment of a victim, informant or witness and if necessary pass orders for protection on the same day.

Not wearing a helmet while driving

Anyone who drives a two-wheeler motorcycle has to wear a helmet or protective headgear (( Section 129, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.)). Further, every person, including children above 4 years of age1, who is riding the two-wheeler motorcycle must also wear a helmet. This headgear must have two features1:

  • It can be reasonably expected to provide a degree of protection from injury in case of an accident. 
  • It is securely fastened to the head of the wearer (such as, by straps).

Only Sikh people who are wearing a turban and women need not compulsorily wear a helmet1. However, this exception varies across states. 

If you do not wear a helmet while driving, you will be punished with a fine of at least Rs. 1,000 and you will be disqualified from holding your license for 3 months2. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

State Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi 1,000
Karnataka 500
  1. Section 129, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩] [↩] [↩]
  2. Section 194D, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩]

Maximum Jail Time Without Bail

People who are in jail while their trial is going on are called under-trials prisoners. As trials in India go on for years together, under-trial prisoners should be protected from being in jails for long periods of time without being proved guilty of committing the crime. The law has provisions of Bail to protect undertrials. 

If a person has been arrested for a crime and has been in prison while undergoing trial for up to half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for the crime that they have committed, the Court must order to release them. 

However, if the Court find enough reasons, it can order continued detention of the under-trial prisoner, even after they have been in prison for one half of the punishment. 

Appearance before Magistrate after Arrest

Anyone who is arrested and in the custody of the police should be produced before the nearest Magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of their arrest. The police are required to produce every arrested person before the Magistrate to ensure that there have been legal grounds for the arrest of the person. Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest should be sent to the concerned Magistrate for their record. In the instance of the accused person not being produced before the Magistrate, a Habeas Corpus petition can be filed. 

Appeal

If you are not satisfied with the decision given by the relevant Legal Service Authority on your application for a grant of legal aid, there is a provision to appeal against the decision. 

To appeal, you can appeal to the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the relevant Legal Services Authority((  Regulation 7(5), National Legal Services Authority (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations 2010.)). The decision resulting from the appeal would be a final one.

What are the offences and punishments under this law ?

When one is held guilty of contempt, they have the option to apologize to the court and save themselves from any other punishments.((  Proviso to Section 12(1), Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.)) However, such an apology should be genuine and not merely a ruse to save oneself from punishment.(( MC Mehta v. Union of India, (1987) 4 SCC 463.)) 

Punishment for Contempt of Court

The punishment for civil and criminal contempt is the same. In situations where the court is not satisfied with the apology or if the person is unwilling to apologize, the court can punish the offender for contempt. The punishment is fine of up to Rs 2,000, or jail time up to 6 months, or with both. However, this limit is only applicable for the High Courts and not for the Supreme Courts. For the Supreme Court, this limit will only serve as a guide to the punishments that can be given and they can increase the fine amount.(( Zahira Habibullah Sheikh & Anr v. State of Gujarat & Ors, (2004) 4 SCC 158.))

Moreover, the court has the option not to punish the offender if the court is of the opinion that the person has not substantially prejudiced the court.(( Section 13(a), Contempt of Court Act, 1971.))

Driving a defective/Unsafe Motor Vehicle

You cannot drive, or allow someone to drive, a motor vehicle that has any defect which either you (owner) knows about or could have known about through ordinary care, which makes the car dangerous to other persons or vehicles1. For example, if the brakes of your vehicle are not functioning properly, your vehicle will be considered defective. 

The penalties for driving a defective motor vehicle are as follows1:

  • If you drive or allow anyone to drive a defective motor vehicle, then you will be punished with a fine of at least Rs. 1,500. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 
  • If such a vehicle causes an accident that results in bodily injury or damage to property:
    • For the first offence, you will be punished with a fine of Rs. 5,000 or jail time of up to 3 months or both. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 
    • For every subsequent offence, you will be punished with a fine of up to Rs. 10,000 or jail time of up to 6 months. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

 

State Offence Frequency of Offence/Type of Vehicle Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi Driving an unsafe/defective vehicle Any offence 1,500
Driving an unsafe/defective vehicle, resulting in an accident that causes bodily injury or property damage First offence 5,000
Any subsequent offence 10,000
Karnataka

 

 Using vehicle in an unsafe condition

 

 Two/Three-Wheeler

 

 1,500

 
Light Motor Vehicle, Heavy Motor Vehicle and Others 3,000
  1. Section 190(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩] [↩]

Police Interrogation

The police officers handling the interrogation should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The details of the police personnel who handle your interrogation must be recorded in a register. The arrested person will be permitted to meet their lawyer during interrogation. 

Denial/Withdrawal of Legal Aid Services

After you fill out your application for legal aid, it can be denied or accepted. It can also be withdrawn at a later stage after the application has been accepted and legal aid has been provided.

 

Denying Legal Aid

Legal aid can be denied1:

 

Withdrawing Legal Aid

Legal aid can be withdrawn in the following circumstances1:

  • Where the person who applied under the income category is found to possess sufficient means to pay for legal services required.
  • Where the person obtained legal services by misrepresentation or fraud.
  • Where the person does not cooperate with the Legal Services Authority/Committee or with the legal services lawyer. 
  • Where the person engages a legal practitioner, like a lawyer, other than the one assigned by the Legal Services Authority/Committee. 
  • Where the person has died, except in the case of civil proceedings where the right/liability is still present
  • Where the application for legal service or the matter in question is found to be an abuse of the process of law or of legal services.
  1. FAQs, National Legal Service Authority, https://nalsa.gov.in/faqs. [↩] [↩]