Dk Basu V State of Westbengal free essay sample

When the researcher was faced with the task of selecting a specific aspect of the rights of the accused, she chose to concentrate on the rights of the arrested person. Thus, this paper shall focus on this legalsutra. org/1047/the-rights-of -the-accused-a-study -on-the-rights-of -the-arrested-person/print/ 2/16 used- A Study on the Rights of the Arrested Person | Legalsutra | Law Students †¦ 10/29/12 specific aspect. The definition of arrest is â€Å"a restraint of a man’s person, obliging him to be obedient to the law†. [2] Arrest means the total restraint and complete deprivation of liberty of a person by legal authority or at east, by apparent legal authority. [3] It has also been defined as â€Å"to restrain or detain a person by lawful authority†. [4] When one thinks of arrest, the picture that most often springs to one’s mind, fostered by television and films of American origin, is that of a police officer reading out the Miranda rules to the arr ested, informing him of his rights. We will write a custom essay sample on Dk Basu V State of Westbengal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Again, based on what one has seen in innumerable movie scenes, again, primarily of American origin, one knows by now that the arrested person has the right to remain silent, that he has the right to a lawyer and so on. Of course, the question that is relevant to us is whether these rights apply in India and more importantly, whether rights of an accused in themselves are a reality or whether they are, in fact, restricted merely to imagination. It has been observed by the Supreme Court that the law of arrest is one of balancing the rights, liberties and privileges of the individual on one hand, and his duties, obligations and responsibilities on the other. [5] Arrest is also about balancing the rights of the individual with that of society’s rights since a person is normally arrested for a crime that is usually defined as a wrong against society. The eternal question has always been the following: how much is too much? Are the police given the absolute authority to do as they like with the arrested person to ensure that justice is ultimately done or is it in order to render justice while ensuring that rights of the arrested are fully protected? In recent times, much attention has been focussed on the way the police treat arrested persons. In several instances, the necessity of arrest itself has been questioned. In this regard, the Third report of the National Police Commission has specified that arrest can be considered justified in the following cases: 1. The case involves a grave offence like murder, dacoity, robbery, rape, etc. , and it is necessary to arrest the accused and bring his movements under restraint to infuse confidence among the terror stricken victims 2. The accused is likely to abscond and evade the process of law 3. The accused is given to violent behaviour and is likely to commit further offences unless his movements are brought under restraint 4. The accused is a habitual offender and unless kept in custody, he is likely to commit similar offences again. [6] Following such recommendations, there have also been several cases that have discussed in detail the rights of the arrested person and what the police can and cannot do. The most important of them all is D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal[7], often considered as the encyclopaedia on the law of arrest. This case has laid down several important dos and don’ts of arrest. For e. g. the person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation centre or other lock-up shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place. The person arrested must also be made aware of this right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained. Thus, this judgement has tried to ensure the very least of rights to the arrested. However, before, this paper can go into the recommendations of various committees on the subject matter, it is important to examine the law of the land that ensure rights to the arrested person. In order to do this, this paper must go into the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure[8] of India and determine which provisions ensure rights to the accused on arrest. This paper shall further endeavour to study the case law in relation to these provisions and try to determine the position of the Indian legal system with regard to legalsutra. rg/1047/the-rights-of -the-accused-a-study -on-the-rights-of -the-arrested-person/print/ 3/16 rights of the arrested persons. Finally, this paper shall attempt to resolve whether these rights ensured to the arrested person exist merely in the letter of the law or are put truly in practice by the police. Research Methodology Aim and Objective: The aim of this paper is to examine the rights of the accused within the framework of the Cr. P. C. It i s the objective of this paper to study the rights of the accused on arrest as ensured by the Cr.