Accused must be informed of necessary facts: Delhi Court directs supply of riots FIR, remand application to Umar Khalid

A Delhi Court has passed an order directing that a copy of a Delhi riots FIR registered at Khajuri Khas be supplied to Umar Khalid. (Umar Khalid vs State).Khalid was arrested in the FIR last month. .Observing that the documents do not contain any sensitive material, the Court has also directed the supply of Delhi Police's remand application, the remand order, Khalid's medical reports from the period of police custody as well as Delhi Police's reply to an application moved by him. .The order was passed by Purshotam Pathak, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, North-East, Delhi while dealing with Khalid's application for supplying the aforesaid documents. .The Prosecution vehemently opposed the application on the ground that there was no provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure that mandated the supply of the documents before cognizance. .Supplying documents at this stage would open the Pandora box, it was said. .The Prosecution stated that Khalid had anyway been informed about the grounds of his arrest. .The Court observed that it was a settled proposition of law that no person could be detained in custody without being informed of the grounds for such arrest. ."Article 22 (1) of Indian Constitution stipulates that no police official can arrest an individual without informing the grounds of his arrest. Articles 22 of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental right of protection against the arrest and detention. Section 50 of Cr.P.C. provides that every police official with authority to arrest someone without warrant, must inform the person getting arrested about the crime for which he is arrested and other relevant grounds for the arrest. The provisions of Section 50 of the Code are mandatory. The police official must inform the arrested person all his rights after detainment and this is the duty of police official which he can not refuse.", the Court said. .Stating that detention in absence of knowledge of particulars of alleged offence or the grounds of arrest is illegal, the Court held,.An accused must be informed of the bare necessary facts leading to his arrest such as the grounds and the reasons, and the facts that in respect of whom and by whom the offence is said to have been committed as well as the date, time and the place of offences etc. and for that purpose there is no prohibition in law restricting the supply of certain documents to accused who has been remanded to judicial custody..The Court further noted that there were judgments of various High Courts which required the police officials to supply the copy of FIR to the accused before filing of chargesheet or immediately after registration of FIR..".. it is vitally necessary that the accused should be granted copy of First Information Report at the earliest possible stage in order to enable him to get the benefit of legal advice.", it was stated. .In the present case, the Court observed, there was no sensitive material in the remand application or the order and the chargesheet qua other accused persons had also been filed..The Court thus ordered, .Considering these facts and circumstances and settled position of law, it is expedient and in the interest of justice that a copy of FIR No. 101/2020, PS Khajuri Khas, copy of the remand application dated 01.10.2020, remand order dated 01.10.2020 granting police custody, medical reports of the medical conducted during the police custody and a copy of reply of IO relied upon in the order dated 03.10.2020 should be granted to accused. Application is accordingly allowed. The Reader of the court of the undersigned is directed to send the copy (annexed with the reply of IO) of all the above said documents to the e- mail id of Cl. for the applicant..SPP Manoj Chaudhary appeared for State. .Advocate Sanya Kumar appeared for Khalid. .Read the Order: