Handcuffing & Chaining Accused To Hospital Bed Shocking: Supreme Court Directs Haryana Govt To Issue Guidelines To Police

Post By 24law
February 12, 2025

Pranav B Prem

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India declared an arrest illegal due to the Haryana Police’s failure to inform the detainee of the grounds of arrest, thereby violating his fundamental rights under Article 22 of the Constitution. Expressing shock at the inhuman treatment meted out to the accused, the Court took strong exception to the fact that he was handcuffed and chained to a hospital bed. The Court has now directed the Haryana Government to issue guidelines to prevent such unconstitutional practices and to ensure strict adherence to Article 22.

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice N Kotiswar Singh recently delivered a verdict setting aside the Punjab & Haryana High Court's decision refusing to set aside the illegal arrest of the Appellant. The appellant had contended that he was not informed of the grounds for his arrest, thus violating his fundamental rights.

Violation of Article 22 and Illegal Arrest

The Supreme Court reiterated that the failure to inform the appellant of the grounds of his arrest amounted to a serious constitutional violation. Referring to previous judgments, the Court stated that "the requirement of informing a person arrested of grounds of arrest is a mandatory requirement of Article 22(1)." The Court further emphasized, "Non-compliance with Article 22(1) will be a violation of the fundamental rights of the accused... Moreover, it will amount to a violation of the right to personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution."

The Court took note of the fact that the arresting officer failed to communicate the grounds of arrest directly to the appellant and instead informed his wife, which does not fulfill the constitutional mandate. "Communication of the grounds of arrest to the wife of the arrestee is no compliance with the mandate of Article 22(1)," the judgment categorically stated. Additionally, the Court found that no contemporaneous document recorded the grounds of arrest, and even the police diary entry cited by the Haryana Police was vague and insufficient. "When an arrestee pleads before a Court that grounds of arrest were not communicated, the burden to prove compliance of Article 22(1) is on the police," the Court observed.

Shocking Treatment: Handcuffing and Chaining to a Hospital Bed

Apart from the illegal arrest, the Supreme Court condemned the treatment of the appellant while he was in police custody. The appellant had been hospitalized at PGIMS, Rohtak, where he was handcuffed and chained to a hospital bed. The Court found this practice to be in gross violation of his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution. "Before we part with this judgment, we must refer to the shocking treatment given to the appellant by the police. He was taken to a hospital while he was handcuffed and he was chained to the hospital bed. This itself is a violation of the fundamental right of the appellant under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The right to live with dignity is a part of the rights guaranteed under Article 21. We, therefore, propose to direct the State Government to issue necessary directions to ensure that such illegalities are never committed," the Court stated in its judgment.

Supreme Court’s Directions to Haryana Government

In light of these findings, the Supreme Court has issued clear directions to the Haryana Government:

The arrest of the appellant shown on 10th June 2024 in connection with FIR no.121 of 2023 dated 25th March 2023 registered at Police Station DLF, Sector-29, Gurugram stands vitiated;
Therefore, the appellant shall be forthwith released and set at liberty;
We clarify that the finding of this Court that the arrest of the appellant stands vitiated will not affect the merits of the chargesheet and the pending case;
We direct the appellant to regularly and punctually attend the trial court unless his presence is exempted, and cooperate with the trial court for early disposal of the trial. We direct the appellant to furnish a bond in accordance with Section 91 of the BNSS to the satisfaction of the Trial Court within a period of two weeks from his release ;
The State of Haryana shall issue guidelines/departmental instructions to the police (i) to ensure that the act of handcuffing an accused while he is on a hospital bed and tying him to the hospital bed is not committed again. (ii) to ensure that the constitutional safeguards under Article 22 are strictly followed. If necessary, the State Government shall amend the existing Rules/guidelines; and
A copy of the judgment shall be forwarded to the Home Secretary of the State of Haryana