The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held the September 2011 re-arrest of activist Arun Thomas Ferreira illegal and directed the State of Maharashtra to pay him ₹2 lakh in compensation. [Arun Thomas Ferreira v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.]
Ferreira is also one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 and is presently out on bail.
In a judgment delivered on October 27, the Court slammed the police for branding Ferreira as 'absconding' while he was detained in jail, and held that the arrest in 2011 in an unmarked car violated constitutional safeguards.
A division bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Raj D Wakode ruled that police violated Ferreira's fundamental rights under Articles 21 (right to liberty) and 22 (protection against arrest and detention) of the Constitution and censured the police officers.
“When the police persons are violator of the law whose primary responsibility is to protect the law, the punishment for such violation has to be proportionately stringent so as to have effective deterrent effect and instill confidence in the society,” the court said.
The Court reminded law enforcement of its core mandate.
“It may not be out of context to remind that the motto of Maharashtra State Police is "Sadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanaya" (To protect good and to punish evil), which needs to be respected. Those, who are called upon to administer the criminal law, must bear, in mind, that they have a duty not merely to the individual accused before them, but also to the State and to the community at large,” the judge said.
Ferreira filed a petition challenging his sudden arrest on September 27, 2011 after he walked out of Nagpur Central Prison following his acquittal in several cases.
However, plainclothes officers seized him and forced him into an unmarked vehicle. His mother, brother and lawyer were present at the scene. The officers did not inform them of the grounds for his detention.
The State argued that secrecy was necessary because of alleged Naxal links.
The bench rejected this argument holding that the constitutional duty to give reasons for an arrest applies without exception.
“A plain reading of Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India shows that the intent of the constitution makers while incorporating the provisions was not to create any exceptional circumstances. This mandate of Article 22(1) is notwithstanding any exception,” the bench held.
The Court ruled that the arrest violated Ferreira's right to personal liberty under Article 21 and directed the State to deposit ₹2 lakh in compensation within eight weeks.
The bench added that Ferreira can file a civil suit if he seeks a higher amount.
Advocates Pradip B Mandhyan and Aakash Sorde appeared for Ferreira.
Additional public prosecutor MJ Khan appeared for State.
[Read Judgment]