Confession made to police during investigation by one accused will not bind the other accused in any manner, holds the High Court of Kerala

Justice P. Ubaid of the High Court of Kerala, in a case¹ where the police arraigned a person (petitioner) as the second accused, simply on the basis of a confession made by the first accused to the police during investigation, has held that the confession made by a co-accused is admissible, provided, it was made to somebody other than police but confession made to police during investigation by one accused will not bind the other accused, in any manner. 

The Court passed the judgment in a petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, by the second accused in C.C.No.1547/2010 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I, Aluva. Crime in the said case was registered by the police under Sections 465, 468 and 471 IPC, after a delay of 5 years on the basis of a communication received   from    the Additional     Director   General of Police (Intelligence) dated 14.04.2005.

The prosecution case was that the 1^st accused, Jomy Varghese, created a false National Trade Certificate with the help and assistance of the other accused, for the purpose of going abroad for employment. The copy of the communication received by the police from the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) showed  that the alleged document was created by one Aravind, a resident of Aluva. The petitioner contended that he is not the said person mentioned in the communication.  The petitioner claimed that he was now being prosecuted on the allegation that the alleged National Trade Certificate was forged at "Aravind Travels", at Aluva, and that the said concern belongs to the petitioner herein.

The petitioner stated in his petition that the complaint is definite that the certificate was created by one Aravind, and not at Aravind Travels. The police however alleged that it was created at the said concern by name Aravind Travels, that this concern belongs to the petitioner herein, and that is why the police arraigned him as the 2^nd accused, as the person who forged the alleged document.

The 2^nd accused filed the petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking quashing of the prosecution as against him on the ground that there is absolutely no material as against him at the hands of the prosecution.

The Court directed the learned Public Prosecutor to submit a report, on instructions, from the concerned Station House Officer, regarding the materials collected by the police to connect the petitioner with the said Aravind Travels. The Sub Inspector of Police, Aluva, accordingly, submitted a report on 29.10.2014. The Court observed that the said report does not reveal the connection between the petitioner and Aravind Travels, Aluva. “The report also does not answer the question put by the court; what materials are there to connect the petitioner with the alleged crime or with Aravind Travels, Aluva”, the Court added. 

The Court said that the Sub-Inspector of Police had failed to answer the definite case of the petitioner that he has no connection whatever with Aravind Travels, and that the said concern belongs to somebody else. The Court also observed that the learned Public Prosecutor submitted that on a perusal of the case diary, nothing definite could be found to connect the petitioner with the said Aravind Travels at Aluva. The Court further observed that the police arraigned the petitioner simply on the basis of a confession made by the first accused to the police during investigation.

It was in this backdrop that the High Court of Kerala held as follows:

“..the confession made by a co-accused is admissible, provided, it was made to somebody other than police. Confession made to police during investigation by one accused will not bind the other accused, in any manner.”

“This confession apart, there is absolutely no material at the hands of the police to arraign this petitioner, or to prosecute him, or to connect him with Aravind Travels, Aluva”, held Justice P. Ubaid who accordingly allowed the petition filed by the petitioner, and quashed the prosecution as against the petitioner herein as the  2^nd accused in C.C.No.1547/2010 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Aluva.

__________________

1.Muhammed Kunhumarakkar v. State of Kerala

[ Crl.M.C.No. 4815 of 2014, decided on 20.12.2014 ]

24.8% of sanctioned posts in the country's police force vacant as on January 1, 2013, says the Union Home Ministry

The Union Government on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that there is a 24.8 per cent vacancy against the sanctioned posts in the country's police forces, including both state and Centre, as per the latest records compiled in this regard till 2013.

 

"As per data compiled by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, as on January 1, 2013, against total sanctioned strength of 22,09,027 posts of police personnel in all the states and Union Territories, 16,60,666 personnel were in position leading to a shortfall of 5,48,361 personnel, which is about 24.8 per cent of the sanctioned posts," Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibai Chaudhary said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

He added that as of the same date, the "sanctioned and actual strength of police personnel at all India level per one lakh population in India is 181.47 and 136.42 respectively. The police-population ration has shown wide variations across the country. Sparsely populated states such as Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram among others have the maximum police-population ratio as compared to the national average of 181 police personnel per lakh of population. 

PM Modi advocates SMART Policing at a conference of top Cops and Intelligence officials in Guwahati

Advocating the concept of 'SMART' policing, while addressing a national conference of Directors General of Police in Guwahati., Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid out a plan for SMART policing.

(File picture: PM Modi. Picture courtesy: India Today)

He said, by 'SMART' policing, he meant 'S for strict but sensitive, M for modern and mobile, A for alert and accountable, R for reliable and responsive and T for techno-savvy and trained.'

Stressing on the importance of good intelligence, he said "Good intelligence negates the need for weapons or conflict."

PM Modi also claimed that the media keeps "projecting only negative picture of the police", who do a lot of good work which is often not highlighted.

Extolling the role played by India's policemen, he said, "Since independence, 33000 police men have died in the line of duty". Police welfare is another issue which needs to be given importance, added PM Modi. "It was imperative to "change the perception about policemen in the country" said PM Modi, and expressed his "gratitude to all those police officers who are serving the nation".

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Aam Aadmi Party files PIL seeking installation of CCTV Cameras in all police stations in Kerala to prevent violation of human rights by the men in khaki

The Kerala State Unit of the Aam Aadmi Party represented by its Convenor Ms. Sara Joseph, a well known litterateur, has filed a writ petition as a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court of Kerala through Adv: S. Sanal Kumar, alleging a drastic spurt of instances of violation of human rights by the State Police, and seeking a direction to the State Government to install CCTV Cameras in all police stations in Kerala "to make the life of person in custody safe and secure".

The Aam Aadmi Party has drawn the attention of the Court to a number of incidents involving violation of human rights by the State Police, including the most recent incident of the custodial torture of a housemaid, Leeba Ratheesh at Cheranalloor Police Station in Ernakulam District.  In the writ petition, a copy of which has been accessed by the Kerala Law Review, the petitioner states :

"Leeba Ratheesh, a housemaid belonging to a Backward Class Community, was taken into custody by the police in connection with a theft case. The Sub Inspector and a Woman Police Officer had snapped on her cheek when she was taken into custody from the house where she worked.  She was detained for a period of 3 days, and all along she was subjected to third degree methods.  On medical examination it was found that she suffered fracture of lumbar vertebra."

 

The Aam Aadmi Party alleges in its petition that 

"Majority of the cases relating to torture in police custody does not become reported or documented, the victims being apprehensive of police wrath and vindictiveness.  Neither the National Crime Records Bureau nor the State Crime Records Bureau published the instances of police torture.  The police torture gains the attention of the authorities only when it culminates in custodial death.  The exact data relating to police torture is unavailable in any of the official records and hence it is difficult to demonstrate the magnitude of police torture in State of Kerala with facts and figures.  But, it has become axiomatic that the torture in police custody is order of the day."

The petitioner points out that the measures to be adopted for abatement or eradication of police torture can be either preventive or remedial. 

"The preventive measure mainly contemplates the installation of Closed Circuit TV Surveillance cameras (hereinafter referred to as ‘CC TV’) in all police stations and police vehicles in Kerala and peremptory direction to hold interrogation sessions under CCTV Camera Surveillance. The remedial measures, in fact, includes both civil and criminal.  The erring officers are to be prosecuted under the Criminal Law and, on the public law remedy or civil jurisprudence they should be asked to pay compensation to the victims with emphasis on speedy disposal of cases. "

The petitioner further states:

"...inspite of yeoman service rendered by the Human Rights Commission for prevention of police torture resulting in human rights violation, by the nature of its constitution it can only issue remedial measures when custodial torture occurs. The Human Rights Commission is lacking in its armory preventive measures for causing abatement to custodial torture.  Though the Director General of Police and State of Kerala are bound to take preventive measures to avert custodial torture, no positive efforts are made by the State.  Though a representation on behalf of the petitioner Party is pending before the Director General of Police pointing out various aspects of police torture and preventive measures to be taken, no action has been taken on the said representation which specifically calls for installation of CC TV Cameras in police stations." 

 

In this backdrop, the petitioner has prayed for a direction from the Court to the respondents (State of Kerala, the Director General of Police and the Home Secretary)  to install CC TV Cameras in all the police stations in the State of Kerala within such time as may be stipulated by the Court and for a direction to Magistrates to scrupulously follow the provisions contained in Sections 41 to 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and to ensure that the person in custody of the police is not tortured in custody. 

 

The Aam Aadmi Party has pointed out in its writ petition that the failure of the Government in taking measures for preventing custodial torture is resulting in deprivation of fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and also militates against various International Conventions against torture. The petitioner has contended that

"The Right to be free from All Kinds of Torture, other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment has reached the status of jus cogens norms in international law.  Jus cogens are peremptory norms of international law from which no derogation is ever permitted."  

The party further contends that the Law Commission in its 239^th Report also recommended the installation of CC TV cameras in police stations, and further that the permissibility and the employment of CC TV Surveillance is discernable from the provisions of Section 33 of the Kerala Police Act, 2011.  The petitioner has also drawn the attention of the Court to a judgment passed by the Bombay High Court  wherein the Bombay High Court has directed the Government of Maharashtra to immediately install and maintain CC TVs with rotating cameras in every corridor, room and lockup of each police so that every part of the police station is covered 24 hours of the day. The petitioner has also pointed out that the Gujarat High Court by its judgment dated 26.09.2014 has set December 31^st as the deadline for the State Government to complete installation of CC TV cameras in each of the police stations across the State.  

The crux of the contentions urged by the Aam Aadmi Party before the High Court of Kerala in support of the reliefs sought by it in the writ petition is that the most effective way of preventing custodial torture is by way of installation of CCTV Surveillance Cameras inside the police stations and police vehicles, and that the installation of CCTV cameras will ensure mutual benefits to all stake holders.

 

The writ petition which came up for consideration of a Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala today, has been adjourned by a period of 4 weeks.