Supreme Court: Police Must Produce Accused Before Court; Negligence Not the Accused's Fault

The Supreme Court of India has reaffirmed the responsibility of the police to ensure that accused individuals in criminal cases, who are in custody, are duly presented before the trial court. In a recent case, the court emphasized that any lapses or negligence on the part of the police in producing the accused before the court cannot be attributed to the incarcerated individuals.

The bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra issued this directive while considering the bail application of a man in Uttar Pradesh. The state police had opposed the grant of bail, arguing that the accused had failed to appear before the trial court, leading to the issuance of arrest warrants.

However, the Supreme Court noted that the accused could not be held accountable for this oversight since he was in custody at the time. The court's decision underscores the fundamental responsibility of the police to ensure the presence of accused persons in court proceedings.

The case involved a government employee who had been accused of defrauding vulnerable investors while managing a Jan Sewa Kendra. The accused had spent over a year in custody, and the chargesheet had already been filed in the case. Considering these factors, the Supreme Court granted bail to the accused, Satender Babu.

Several advocates, including Divyesh Pratap Singh, Shivangi Singh, Vikram Pratap Singh, Ranjana Singh, Amit Sangwan, Jai Inder, and Naman Bhardwaj, represented the accused in this matter. On behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government, advocates Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Aviral Saxena, Mangal Prasad, SK Tomar, Ajay Kumar Pandey, and Mayur Raj presented their arguments before the court.

Author: Anushka Taraniya

News Writer, MIT ADT University