Theme: Police

Refusal of Bail

For non-bailable offences the Court can refuse to grant you bail when the punishment for the crime you have committed has: 

  • Death penalty,
  • Prison for life,
  • Jail time of more than 7 years,
  • If the offence is cognizable, 
  • Been convicted previously on two or more occasions of a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment of three years or more but not less than seven years.

 

Rights While Being Arrested

Upon being arrested you have certain rights, namely:

 

  • You can ask the police to identify themselves as they should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations.
  • You can ask the police to call your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer or cannot afford a lawyer, then you can ask the court to appoint a lawyer for you. 
  • You can ask the police to show the warrant for arrest, police report and other documents for your arrest and the police are required to show you this.
  • You should verify the accuracy of the memo of arrest prepared by the police before signing it. The memo of arrest should contain the date and time of arrest and should be attested by at least one witness.  
  • You should be informed about your eligibility for bail for the offence by the police.
  • You can ask to be examined for major and minor injuries on your body by a trained doctor and the police must comply. This examination has to be done every 48 hours if you are in their custody. This physical examination has to be recorded in the Inspection Memo and signed by the police officer. This is done to prevent violence by police while you are in their custody.
  • You should get a copy of the signed Inspection Memo.

Where can an FIR be filed

An FIR can be filed at any police station. The fact that the crime may not have been committed in that police stations jurisdiction has no consequence to the filing of the complaint. It is mandatory for the police to record the information provided, and then transfer it to the police station in whose area/jurisdiction the offence took place. For instance, if a crime was committed in North Delhi, the information can even be registered with a police station in South Delhi.

 

This concept is generally referred to as “Zero FIR” and was introduced in 2013. Before the introduction of Zero FIR,  massive delays were caused because the police station would record the information only in the area where the crime occurred. 

Underage Driving

You have to be above a certain age to drive motor vehicles in a public place. Given below are the age limits stipulated by the law:

  • To drive any motor vehicle (except a motorcycle with an engine capacity of fewer than 50 cc): 18 years1 
  • To drive a motorcycle with an engine capacity of fewer than 50 cc: 16 years1 
  • To drive a transport vehicle (for example, a truck): 20 years

If you are under the age required to drive a particular type of motor vehicle, but you drive it anyway, then you can be punished with a fine of Rs. 5,000 or with jail time of up to 3 months, or both2. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

State Type of Vehicle Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi Not applicable 5,000
Karnataka Two/Three-Wheeler 1,000
Light Motor Vehicle 2,000
Others 5,000
  1. Section 4(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩] [↩]
  2. Section 181, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩]

Cancelling Bail

In cases where the Court feels that during the various stages of the proceeding, a person is:

  • Intimidating, bribing or tampering with the witnesses,
  • Trying to abscond or flee. 

Then the Court may cancel the bail, and re-arrest the person. This is applicable to both bailable and non-bailable offences. Cancellation happens if the person’s conduct subsequent to his release may hamper the proceedings of the case and the possibility of a fair trial. 

Duties of Police During Arrest

Inform

Within 12 hours of the arrest, the police officer has to inform the police control room of 

  • your arrest
  • the place where you are being detained.

Investigate

The police will conduct an investigation and maintain a case diary during the investigation. The case diary is a daily diary kept by an officer detailing all that happens in an investigation. He will need to provide a copy of the entries in the case diary to the Magistrate. 

Chargesheet

Based on the investigation the police will then file a charge sheet. The charge sheet should be filed within 90 days if the accused person is in the custody of the police. 

FIRs filed for Women Related Offences

If you want to give information about any of the following offences, then such information has to be registered by a woman police officer or any other woman officer: 

  1. Grievous hurt by use of acid
  2. Voluntarily throwing or attempting to throw acid
  3. Assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty
  4. Sexual harassment 
  5. Disrobing 
  6. Voyeurism 
  7. Stalking
  8. Rape 
  9. Rape causing death or persistent vegetative state
  10. Rape by husband when spouses were separated
  11. Gang Rape 
  12. Outraging the modesty of a woman by words, gestures or actions

For offences committed from C to L mentioned above, if the same was committed or alleged to have been committed on someone who is suffering from some mental or physical disability (both temporary or permanent), then such information will be recorded by a police officer at their residence or any place that is convenient to the person reporting. Depending on the circumstances, they can even request an interpreter or a special educator.

 

Dangerous Driving

If you drive a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner which is dangerous to the public, or which causes a sense of alarm or distress to the occupants of the car, other road users and persons near the road, it is known as dangerous driving1. Listed below are some instances of dangerous driving:

 

If you drive dangerously, you will face jail time between six months to a year, or a fine between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000, or both, for the first offence. For every subsequent offence, if committed within three years, you will be punished with jail time of up to 2 years, or a fine of Rs. 10,000, or both1. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

 

State Frequency of Offence Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi First Offence 1,000 – 5,000 
Any Subsequent Offence 10,000
Karnataka First offence   1,000 – 5,000

(Not including the fine for the use of handheld communication devices while driving)
Any Subsequent Offence 10,000
  1. Section 184, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩] [↩]

Bail for Non-Bailable Crimes

Some cases where you can be granted bail when charged with a non-bailable offence are:

  • If it appears to the officer or the court at any stage of the inquiry or trial that the accused has not committed the non-bailable offence, then the accused can be granted bail. 
  • If the trial of a person accused with non bailable offence takes more than 60 days, and the person has been in jail all this while, then the court can release him and grant him bail.

Arresting a Woman

Apart from all the rules that need to be followed while making an arrest, the police also have to keep a few important things in mind while arresting a woman. They are: 

  • A woman cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise (unless in exceptional circumstances). 
  • A lady constable has to be present when a woman is being arrested. 

In the exceptional circumstance when the woman has to be arrested at night, the woman police officer has to take permission in writing from the local Judicial Magistrate. 

However, to some extent, the Supreme Court has relaxed this rule. If the arresting officer is reasonably satisfied that if the lady officer is not available and the delay in getting the lady officer would impede/obstruct the investigation, he can carry on with arresting the woman. But he has to provide, in his arrest memo, the reasons and circumstances for his actions either before the arrest or immediately after.