Theme: Police

Chargesheet

Once you have reported the crime by filing an FIR, the officer in charge must send the report to a Magistrate, who will take note of the case without any unnecessary delay, and proceed with the investigation. This is a mandatory step that the police have to follow, as it allows the Magistrate to take control of the investigation, and if necessary give appropriate directions to the police.

The police will investigate the facts and circumstances of the case, and if necessary, take measures to find and arrest the person committing the crime. If the police officer feels that the case is not of serious nature, he may appoint a subordinate officer to do the investigation. Also, if they think that there are no sufficient grounds to investigate further, they may not do so. 

When the Police are done with their investigation and have found enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case, they file a charge sheet. However, after investigation, if they have not found anything proving the commission of a crime, they will suggest closing the case by filing a closure report to the Magistrate.

It is the filing of the charge sheet where the trial of a criminal case begins. The police do not have a time limit to file the charge sheet or a closure report. Even the Magistrate cannot compel the police to file the charge sheet in a particular period of time. But if the person accused of a crime is in jail, then they have either 60 days (where the punishment for the crime is less than 10 years) or 90 days (where the punishment of the crime is more than 10 years) to file the charge sheet. 

 

Triple Riding on a two wheeler motorcycle

While driving a two-wheeled motorcycle, you have to make sure that: 

  • Only two people, including the driver, are sitting on the two-wheeler motorcycle1. 
  • The second person should be sitting on a proper seat, which is securely fixed to the two motorcycles1. 

If you violate these two conditions given above, you can be:

  • Fined for at least Rs. 1,000, although the applicable fine amount might vary across states.  
  • Disqualified from holding your driving license for a period of three months2. 

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

State Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi 1,000
Karnataka 500

 

  1. Section 128(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩] [↩]
  2. Section 194C, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩]

Anticipatory Bail

The law allows a person to apply for bail even when he has not been arrested, but fears arrest in the near future. This type of bail is known as anticipatory bail. The police cannot arrest a person who has an anticipatory bail order.  

 

Anticipatory bail will kick in only when an FIR is filed against you or if the police have come to arrest on the basis of the FIR. It isn’t available in all states; such as Uttar Pradesh.  

 

Often, fake and frivolous cases are filed against other people. This leads to harming of reputation and time of other persons. To avoid such problems, a person, if they have reasons to believe that they may be arrested for a non-bailable offence in the future, can apply for bail in the High Court or the Court of Session even before they are arrested. If the court finds good reasons for this bail application, then the court may allow for bail. When an application for anticipatory bail is finally being heard, it is compulsory for the person applying for this bail to be present before the Court. 

 

The protection provided by this type of bail is only for a limited period and generally till the police have framed the charges against you. However, one can make an application to the High Court to have this period of anticipatory bail extended.

 

Authority to Arrest

While different authorities in law have the right to make arrests, they are generally carried out by the police. Please read our explainer to understand more about arrests by police.

Besides the police, the law also gives power to Magistrates, to arrest people and take them into custody, if the person has committed an offence. There are two types of Magistrates i.e. Executive Magistrates and Judicial Magistrates. An example of an Executive Magistrate is Tehsildar. A Judicial Magistrate is a judge.  

Under certain circumstances, the law does permit ordinary people to make arrests if they witness someone committing a very serious crime. In such cases, the person arresting can’t detain them but instead must take them to the nearest police station without any unnecessary delay and hand them over to a police officer.

Reporting a Crime/Atrocity

If a crime has been committed against you owing to your identity as member of the Scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, you can approach any of these places to get immediate relief: 

Police

You can either call 100 or visit a police station to report the incident. The police will note down your details and if needed arrive at your location to provide you immediate help. They will write down your information and details of the incident in an FIR and provide you with a copy of it, free of cost. 

National Commission for Scheduled Castes 

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is a body set up under the Constitution to investigate and monitor the interests of the Scheduled Castes. They also have the power to inquire into specific complaints in cases where members of Scheduled Castes are deprived of their rights. You can either call their toll free helpline or visit their website for more information.  

Toll Free Number: 1800 1800 345

Website: http://ncsc.nic.in/

Email: ncsccomplaints@gmail.com

Contact details of State Commissions: http://ncsc.nic.in/contactus 

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

Like the NCSC, there exists a National Commission for Scheduled Tribes as well. They have the power to investigate into complaints registered for atrocities committed against the members of Scheduled Tribes. 

Website: https://ncst.nic.in/

Contact information for the National Commission as well as its regional offices can be found here: https://ncst.nic.in/content/contact-us

SC/ST Protection Cell 

SC/ST Protection Cells have been set up in different States and Union Territories across India. The head of these cells is usually a high ranking police officer of the State or UT, like the Inspector General of police or the Additional Director General of Police. If you want to approach such a cell in your state, take the help of the nearest police station.

Manual Scavengers

If you are being forced to work as a manual scavenger or know someone who is being forced, please complain to the police or the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis. Please know that the practice of manual scavenging is prohibited under law. For more information please read this. 

Using mobile phones while driving

You cannot use a mobile phone while driving any motor vehicle, as it can pose a danger to the driver and the public. It can also be considered as dangerous driving, for which, you will be punished with:

  • First Time (First Offence): Jail time between 6 months to 1 year or a fine between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000, or both1. The applicable fine amount might vary across states.
  • Subsequent Offence: If you commit this offence within three years of committing your first offence, 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 Two/Three-Wheeler – 1,500 

Light Motor Vehicle – 3,000 

Others – 5,000

 
Any Subsequent Offence 10,000
  1. Section 184, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩]

Conditions for Applying for Anticipatory Bail

The person who is applying for anticipatory bail has to satisfy or promise to satisfy the following conditions:

 

  • The person should make themselves available for interrogation by a police officer when required.
  • The person should not, directly, or indirectly induce, threaten or promise any person who knows the facts of the case to stop them from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer.
  • The person should not leave India without the prior permission of the court.
  • Other conditions are similar to that of regular bail.

 

Fundamental Right Against Illegal Arrests

If someone you know has been detained or arrested by police or any authority who refuses to give any reasons for the detention, then in such cases, the arrested person or the relative/s of such person can file a Habeas Corpus petition before any High Court or the Supreme Court of India. 

The Constitution of India grants everyone a fundamental right to ask the Court to order the detaining authority to produce the person so arrested and request the court to investigate if the arrest was legal.

This fundamental right is exercised when a person is arrested and kept in the custody of a detaining authority: 

  1. without being informed of the reasons for the arrest; or
  2. is denied the right to be defended by a legal practitioner of their choice.  

This fundamental right is extremely broad. Please talk to a legal practitioner to understand more of when a Habeas Corpus writ can be filed. 

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. [↩]