Madras High Court initiates suo motu contempt case against State DGP, 9 others for 2017 arrest of activist-lawyer

The Madras High Court on Monday initiated suo motu contempt of court proceedings against the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) and nine other police personnel for having flouted legal procedure while arresting a human rights activist and lawyer in 2017 [S Rajarethinam v. The State of Tamil Nadu]..Justice SM Subramaniam initiated the contempt proceedings against the DGP and nine personnel of the Tirunelveli district police, finding that the arrest was violative of guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in DK Basu v. State of West Bengal..The Court was hearing a petition filed by lawyer S Rajarethinam, who passed away last month and is now represented by his wife. It noted that Rajarethinam had been arrested by the police at around 1:00 AM on November 3, 2017, without any apparent cause, and was kept in illegal custody at an undisclosed location. He was also stripped, assaulted and tortured by the police during custody.Rajarethinam was finally traced by an advocate commissioner appointed by the local magistrate court. The commissioner found the lawyer at Uvari police station in Tirunelveli district, sitting on a stool without his shirt on, bleeding and bruised. Rajarethinam was then taken to the local government hospital, where he remained under treatment for 23 days.In the wake of the public furore that followed Rajarethinam's arrest, the State Police had suspended seven police personnel who were subsequently reinstated and let off with a mere warning. The police filed its final probe report in the case only last week..Additional Advocate General P Kumaresan, appearing for the Tamil Nadu Police, argued that there had been no lapse on part of the police and that requisite action had been taken against the erring officers.However, Justice Subramaniam refused to accept this submission. He said that for five years after the incident, the police had failed to make any progress in its departmental inquiry. "The perusal of the records placed before this court reveal that the approach of the police are lackadaisical and the long delay has been taken as an undue advantage and even now, the actions initiated were not pursued in accordance with the statutes and rules in force," the Court said..The Court went on to note that the magistrate's report and the advocate commissioner's testimony showed that excesses had been committed by the concerned police personnel.It also said that the police were armed with wide powers and any illegality committed by them must be viewed seriously. "Any growing trend of indiscipline in the uniformed services at no circumstances be tolerated by the state. Indiscipline amongst the uniformed services is a greater threat to the democracy," the order stated.The Court also highlighted in its order,"Police authorities are expected to perform their duties vigilantly and diligently and in the interest of public without fear or favour. Excess exercise of power would cause serious consequences as the victims are losing their livelihood, reputation, image, more so, they are deprived of their basic rights.".Justice Subramaniam said that in view of the facts of the case, he was "inclined to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings" against the DGP and the nine erring officers. The Court will hear the matter further on December 15. .Rajarethinam, who was 46 years old at the time of his arrest, died of a heart attack earlier this month. His lawyer M Radhakrishnan told the Court that Rajarethinam had represented hundreds of downtrodden people and those belonging to the economically weaker sections, and had also several represented anti-nuclear activists against the Tamil Nadu government.Radhakrishnan said that Rajarethinam had never fully recovered from the internal injuries he sustained following his arrest, and that they had severely impacted his overall health..[Read Order]