DGP instructs police stations in-charge to protect dignity, privacy of arrested persons

Maharashtra DGP issues circular to protect dignity and privacy of individuals in police custody, especially during personal searches, following Bombay High Court directive.

MUMBAI: The director general of police, Maharashtra, has issued a circular to all police station in-charges across the state, aligning with the recent directive from the Bombay High Court. The circular aims to ensure that the dignity and privacy of individuals in police custody are protected, particularly during personal searches of accused persons.

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It also orders the police station in-charge to ensure that the CCTV cameras installed in the police station, especially those around the lock-up, are maintained in working condition and that the station house officers keep a close watch on the CCTV footage.

The circular also emphasises the importance of upholding the dignity and privacy of detainees while ensuring their safety and that of others. It requires the station house officer to ensure that detainees have sufficient clothing during personal searches to maintain their dignity and privacy.

This circular follows a court plea filed by the wife of a music teacher arrested in July last year on bailable charges through her counsel advocate Kripashankar Pandey. The teacher was allegedly illegally detained and harassed, including being stripped at the Saat Rasta police lock-up, after allegedly showing an obscene video to a student.

During a recent hearing, a bench comprising justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Manjusha Deshpande noted that existing Maharashtra government circulars did not address the issue of stripping detainees in police lock-ups. The court asked the government to outline steps to protect the dignity and privacy of such individuals.

Last September, the high court directed the state government to compensate the music teacher with ₹2 lakh and recover the amount from the salary of those responsible for his illegal detention. The teacher’s wife claimed that even after the bailable nature of the offences, he was kept in the lock-up overnight, asked to strip, and made to sit with other criminals.

During a January 23 hearing, additional public prosecutor Prajakta P Shinde informed the bench that the director general of police had issued a circular on January 18 related to the release of persons arrested for bailable offences when ready to furnish bail. Shinde also presented other circulars, including ones from October 2007 and January 2004, addressing issues such as maintenance of lock-up registers, medical checkups for detainees, and humane treatment, in compliance with past court directions and recommendations from the National Human Rights Commission.