Cops’ action amounts to illegal detention: lawyers

Reacting to allegations against the police for allegedly thrashing an 11-year-old kept in detention, legal experts said this was a blatant case of section 323 of the Indian Penal Code — illegal detention and causing hurt voluntarily, writes Mohan K Korappath.

Reacting to allegations against the police for allegedly thrashing an 11-year-old kept in detention, legal experts said this was a blatant case of section 323 of the Indian Penal Code — illegal detention and causing hurt voluntarily.

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Counsel Jamshed Mistry said the police had gone overboard by illegally detaining the child. “There should be a full-fledged enquiry as the police could have produced the child before the Juvenile Justice Court if he had committed an offence,” Mistry said.

Criminal lawyer Arfan Sait agreed, saying that the action amounted to illegal detention since there was no arrest and mandatory procedures before the Juvenile Justice Court or the Child Welfare Board were not followed. Sait pointed out that the Supreme Court provides specific guidelines for police to follow when dealing with children.