Kerala high court directs strict compliance with pre-arrest formalities; grants bail to forest officer

KOCHI: Flagging instances where the accused secured bail due to non-compliance by the investigating officer with pre-arrest formalities, the Kerala High Court on Thursday directed all criminal courts in the state to ensure strict adherence to such formalities, as stipulated in several Supreme Court judgments, before considering remand applications. The high court specifically instructed that before ordering remand, the magistrate or judge must obtain an endorsement in the proceedings sheet confirming that the pre-arrest formalities have been followed and that the accused has no objection in this regard, according to news agency PTI."In the event of non-compliance, the magistrate or the special judge ... must ensure compliance of the formalities by the investigating officer and remand is to be considered only after ensuring compliance of the formalities," Justice A Badharudeen said.

The high court also stated that if the magistrate or judge observes a deliberate intention by the investigating or arresting officer to avoid complying with the formalities, they should recommend disciplinary proceedings against such officers. The directions came while hearing the bail application of a deputy range forest officer accused of sexually assaulting a female beat forest officer at his workplace. According to the prosecution, on February 4, while the beat forest officer was serving food to her colleagues in torchlight due to a power failure at the Deputy Range Office, the accused touched her inappropriately.

The high court noted that upon perusal of the First Information Statement, "the allegations necessary to constitute the offences alleged are well made out, prima facie and the absolute innocence canvassed by the appellant's (accused) counsel is found to be unacceptable". However, it set aside the special judge’s order denying regular bail to the accused and granted him relief in view of his status as a first-time offender."The appellant (accused) shall be released on bail on his executing a bond for Rs 1,00,000, with two solvent sureties, each for the like amount, to the satisfaction of the special court concerned."The appellant shall not intimidate the witnesses or tamper with evidence. He shall co-operate with the investigation and shall be available for interrogation," the high court said. It also directed the accused to appear before the investigating officer whenever required and not to make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person—including the complainant—acquainted with the facts of the case, so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to any police officer.The appellant shall not disturb the de facto complainant in any manner during the currency of bail hereby granted, if any such event is reported or comes to the notice of this court, the same alone is a reason to cancel the bail hereby granted," the high court said. Finally, the court directed the High Court Registry to forward a copy of the judgment to all criminal courts in Kerala and the Director General of Police, instructing them to inform all investigating officers and station house officers about the importance of complying with pre-arrest formalities and the consequences of non-compliance.