'Arrest Cannot Be Mechanical, Dignity Must Be Recognised': Kerala HC Orally Remarks In Suo Motu Case On Conflict Between Lawyers & Police

The Kerala High Court has orally observed that arrest by the police cannot be a mechanical process, and that the police must take into account the circumstances in which an arrest in made, and maintain the dignity of individuals.Earlier, the court had constituted a committee to formulate guidelines to address the issue of conflicts between police and lawyers in the court premises. During the last posting, there was also direction to the committee to submit a feedback report regarding the same.When the matter came up for consideration today (July 2), the Division Bench of Dr. Justice A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice P. M. Manoj orally told the Committee members to give their suggestions in writing.The Court orally instructed the Committee that there should be general guidelines regarding the protocols to be followed in the peculiar circumstances when the conflict occurs in court premises. It was opined that there is a sanctity that ought to be attached to the court premises. The Court took the example of legislative assemblies and stated that similar procedures must be in place when an arrest has to take place in court premises. One of the guidelines could be that the police can arrest when altercations occur in court premises, but before taking the arrested person away, he must be brought before the presiding officer of the court.The Court clarified that these guidelines should not only address situations where a lawyer is the accused, but also when any accused person engages in an altercation in the presence of a lawyer. In such circumstances, it should be made clear that the police should listen to what the lawyer of the accused says.The Bench orally noted that the Police should take into consideration the circumstances when an arrest is made. The Court orally observed as follows: “Justice is not strictly legal. There are other aspects to be considered. Taking note of the circumstances in which an arrest is made, the police may have to do something more than what is strictly mentioned in the books and the rules.”The Court orally opined that since we have started recognising the right to dignity, there must be something more which must be read into the rules. "There cannot be a mechanical arrest, but we need to think differently and evolve," it said.The matter is posted after ten days for the report of the Committee.BackgroundA suo motu case was registered by the High Court to deal with the instances of violence by police against the legal fraternity, initiated after police officers allegedly attacked a lawyer on the premises of Ramankary Magistrate Court, Alappuzha. The case was initiated based on a letter to the Court by the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association.During the course of the case, the Court had ascertained the need to formulate a code of conduct to regulate the conduct of law enforcement agencies in the court premises and other judicial authorities in the state. For this purpose, the Court had directed the State Police Chief to draw a road map for further discussion after consulting with the Director General of Prosecution. The State Police Chief was instructed to get the suggestions of various stakeholders, namely the Bar Council of Kerala and the President of the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association.A Committee was constituted to formulate comprehensive guidelines to address the issue of conflicts that arise during interaction between police and lawyers in the court premises. The members of the Committee are the State Advocate General K. Gopalakrishna Kurup, Director General of Prosecution T.A. Shaji, President of Kerala High Court Advocates Association Yeshwant Shenoy and Senior Advocates Santhosh Mathew and S. Sreekumar.Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and OthersCase No: WP(C) No. 32952 of 2024

'Arrest Cannot Be Mechanical, Dignity Must Be Recognised': Kerala HC Orally Remarks In Suo Motu Case On Conflict Between Lawyers & Police

K. Salma Jennath

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