The Supreme Court has said that it is not necessary to arrest the accused at the time of filing of chargesheet.
The top court recently observed that an arrest made in a routine manner can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person who goes under custody.
The bench of Justices SK Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy said, “The word “custody” appearing in Section 170 of the CrPC does not contemplate either police or judicial custody, but it merely connotes the presentation of the accused by the Investigating Officer before the court while filing the chargesheet.”
The bench noted that it had come across cases where the accused has cooperated with the investigation throughout without being taken into custody, but non-bailable warrants have been issued for his production at the time of filing of chargesheet.
“If the investigating officer has no reason to believe that the accused will abscond or disobey summons and has, in fact, throughout cooperated with the investigation, we fail to appreciate why there should be a compulsion on the officer to arrest the accused,” the bench said.
“We may note that personal liberty is an important aspect of our constitutional mandate. The occasion to arrest an accused during investigation arises when the custodial investigation becomes necessary or it is a heinous crime or where there is a possibility of influencing the witnesses or accused may abscond,” the bench pointed out.
