Plea moved in Delhi High Court for uniform procedure for arrests by police

A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Centre, the AAP government and police to develop a "uniform standard procedure for arrests".

The petition by financial economist Abhijit Mishra also seeks directions to the Centre, the Delhi government and the police to "make a comprehensive compensation policy and procedure for illegal detention and arrest" of any person.

The plea, filed through advocate Payal Bahl, further seeks that on being arrested a citizen should be provided all the documents related to his arrest, and his family or friends should also be informed about it by the police.

The matter is listed for hearing on Monday. The plea also wants that the Delhi Police should make the arrest guidelines available at each of its police stations along with contact details of legal aid lawyers.

Besides that, the plea also seeks directions to the Centre, the Delhi government and the police to ensure that before arresting a person he should be informed about his rights under the Constitution and Criminal Procedure Code.

"It is respectfully submitted that till date there are no uniform guidelines or standard operating procedure in regard to the arrest of the citizen as published in the Gazette of India by the Government of India. 

"Thus, in the absence of such guidelines or procedures creates an environment that leads to inadvertent abuse of power by the law enforcement agencies," the petition said.

(Photo Credit: PTI)