Expressing its strong displeasure against the Haryana Police for handcuffing and chaining a detainee to a hospital bed, the Supreme Court recently directed the state government to issue guidelines preventing such actions and ensuring strict compliance with Article 22, if necessary with amendments.
Setting aside the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s order refusing to set aside the illegal arrest of the appellant, the Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice N Kotiswar Singh noted that since the State Police failed to inform the detainee about the grounds of arrest, the arrest could not be termed legal.
As per the appellant, he was handcuffed and his legs were chained to the hospital bed.
The Apex Court said the inhuman treatment meted out to the appellant during his illegal detention by Haryana Police compromised his fundamental right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The top court of the country directed the Haryana government to issue guidelines/departmental instructions to the police, ensuring that the act of handcuffing an accused while on a hospital bed and tying him to the hospital bed was not committed again.
It further ordered the State of Haryana to ensure that the constitutional safeguards under Article 22 were strictly followed. If necessary, the state government should amend the existing Rules/guidelines, added the Bench.