HC raps police for lapses in arrest of 19-yr-old with newborn

The Bombay High Court criticized the Mumbai Police for arresting a 19-year-old woman and her newborn baby in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court directed the director general of police to provide a detailed response regarding similar cases of swift arrests for theft in Maharashtra. The court also took custody of the original case files due to lapses in the investigation process. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 25.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday rapped the Mumbai Police for arresting a 19-year-old woman with her newborn baby for an alleged theft case in violation of provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

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“How can someone be arrested after a notice under Section 41A? Where is the evidence that the requirements of subsections 3 and 4 were satisfied,” the court asked. Section 41A of CrPC designates that in case of offences punishable with imprisonment for less than seven years, the police must serve a notice to the accused prior to their arrest. Subsections 3 and 4 state that the accused can be arrested only when police officers record the reason for the same or secure permission from a court.

Deeming this a clear violation of legal procedures and court orders related to lawful arrest, the court directed the director general of police to provide a detailed response regarding the number of theft cases in Maharashtra where swift arrests, similar to this case, were made. The court also took custody of the original case files due to serious lapses in the investigation process.

The bench comprising justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Faruk Kabir, director of the film Khuda Haafiz, seeking custody of his and his Uzbekistani wife Shok Sanam’s child.

The duo had married in 2022 and their daughter was born on November 29, 2023. While Shok, 19, was keen on Uzbek citizenship for the baby girl, Kabir was keen on Indian citizenship, leading to a dispute.

On December 21, Kabir learned that Shok and her parents had left Mumbai for Punjab with the baby girl, and they were planning to cross the Wagah border and head to Uzbekistan via Pakistan. They allegedly couldn’t travel by air due to a lookout circular issued against them by the Maharashtra police.

Kabir subsequently filed an FIR with the Versova police station, saying Shok and her parents had stolen valuables worth ₹7 lakh. He also filed a habeas corpus petition in high court through advocates Jitendra Tiwari and Kunickaa Sadanand seeking custody of the baby girl.

The police issued a section 41A notice to Shok in connection with the theft case through WhatsApp, which is not recognised by the criminal laws of the country. They brought her back to Mumbai on December 31, arrested her for not cooperating with the probe, and produced her before a metropolitan magistrate court at 9pm. She was held overnight in police custody and granted bail the next day.

Making a note of the irregularities in Shok’s arrest, the court stated, “This is yet another case in which the investigation officer has committed blatant violations of the procedures under Criminal Procedure Code” despite previous instructions from the director general of police. The court criticised the use of WhatsApp for issuance of the notice, stating that the investigation officer had formulated his own procedures without proper justification.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 25, and Kabir is expected to financially support the residence requirements of his wife and daughter until then.