Lawyer moves Kerala High Court seeking court-appointed probe into handcuffing of Kollam advocate by police

A lawyer has approached the Kerala High Court seeking a court-appointed probe into a recent incident where another lawyer from Kollam district was allegedly manhandled and handcuffed by the police [Yeshwant Shenoy v Gopakumar & Ors.]..The petitioner contended that the police officers concerned blatantly violated the directions of the Supreme Court in its1995 judgment in President, Citizens for Democracy v. State of Assam & Ors. In said judgment, the top court had held, "We declare, direct and lay down as a rule that handcuffs or other fetters shall not be forced on a prisoner - convicted or under-trial-while lodged in a jail anywhere in the country or while transporting or in transit from one jail to another or from jail to court and back. The police and the jail authorities, on their own, shall have no authority to direct the hand- cuffing of any inmate of a jail in the country or during transport from one jail to another or from jail to court and back.".The plea has argued that the action of the police authorities in Kollam was in blatant violation of law and amounted willful disobedience of the directions of the Supreme Court, especially since a practicing advocate was at the receiving end of the treatment."The Hon'ble Supreme Court had directed the Courts to summarily punish any and all police officers violating the order so the Hon 'ble Supreme Court. After almost a decade of President, Citizens for Democracy. v. State of Assam and Others, the situation seems to have remained unchanged. Can the Police Officials be allowed to continue to disobey the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court," the contempt petition stated..Even though the State government has appointed Inspector General of Police, Thiruvananthapuram Range, to inquire and submit a report, the petitioner contended that such blatant violation of the top court's orders requires a court appointed probe headed by a former judge of the High Court."In spite of these orders, if a 100% literate State like Kerala has its police pick up an advocate and handcuff him in blatant violation of all laws, and that too in this modern world where everything is captured on mobile phones and goes viral within seconds on social media, shows how dangerous the police force can be if they go unchecked. While the Petitioner made his research to trace the chain of command, this Hon'ble Court ought to appoint a former Judge of this Hon'ble Court to inquire and find out the name of every police official who were present and were involved in the blatant violation of the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court which is taught specifically to them during their training," the plea stated.The petitioner stressed that the Court must not be a mute spectator and must show its willingness to enforce the directions of the Supreme Court as the same is a law declared under Article 141of the Constitution of India.On these grounds, the petitioner has sought orders from the Court to summon and punish the erring police officials for contempt of court. .The issue concerns advocate P Jayakumar, a member of the Kollam Bar Association, who was allegedly subjected to violence in police custody when he was detained in connection with a road accident.The incident had led to a widespread protest by lawyers in the premises of the District Court at Kollam, which then ended up in a violent clash between lawyers and police officers on September 13.The members of the Kollam Bar Association have since been boycotting work and demanding that action be taken against the erring police personnel.The protest gained momentum over the past week with lawyers of the Kerala High Court also joining in abstaining from work.An order issued by Additional Director General of Police Vijay S Sakhre on September 21 stated that four police officers involved in the alleged incident have been placed on suspension pending completion of enquiry by the DIG of Police, Thiruvananthapuram Range.

Lawyer moves Kerala High Court seeking court-appointed probe into handcuffing of Kollam advocate by police

Giti Pratap

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