Advocate Sabyasachi Chatterjee has filed this petition. His primary plea to the court is that parading an accused person through the streets with a rope tied around their waist in this manner constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the country's Constitution. Questions have been raised as to why the State Police repeatedly engage in such conduct, despite the existence of clear guidelines issued by the Supreme Court. The Calcutta High Court has scheduled the hearing for this case for June 5th.
What happened in Howrah and Kanchrapara?
Just a few days ago, a move by the Howrah District Police sparked intense controversy. The police paraded Akash Singh—a notorious criminal—through the streets of Howrah city itself, clad only in a vest and shorts, to conduct a 'crime scene reconstruction.' Before the ripples of that incident could subside, another similar event occurred in Kanchrapara, North 24 Parganas. The police from the Bijpur station paraded Boni—an influential Trinamool Youth leader from Bijpur who had been arrested on charges of extortion and illegal arms possession—through a public street with a rope tied around his waist. During this incident, even while the accused was surrounded by a police cordon, members of the public shouted slogans of "Thief! Thief!" at him.
Legal Questions and Supreme Court Directives
According to the legal fraternity, India's apex court—the Supreme Court—has issued clear directives stating that no individual who is either an undertrial prisoner or in police custody may be subjected to inhumane treatment. Except in exceptional circumstances, parading an individual through the streets while handcuffed or with a rope tied around their waist is not legally permissible. However, in the wake of a series of incidents in Bengal, this overzealousness—or tendency toward "public shaming" (humiliation in the public eye)—on the part of the police effectively makes a mockery of the rule of law in the country.
Attorneys representing the petitioners assert that the police cannot take the law into their own hands in this manner. The task of punishing offenders belongs to the courts, not the police. Under these circumstances, all eyes are now fixed on June 5, to see what observations the High Court offers regarding the conduct of the police and what directives it issues to the State administration.