RIGHTS OF ACCUSED : A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The author of this blog is Jatin Kumar, student of 2nd year BA LLB, SGT UNIVERSITY, GURUGRAM
INTRODUCTION
Every person in India has their own basic rights which are with you since you were born which he entitled to for instance, such as right to freedom, right to live a life, etc. Same as that every country has certain rights for their citizens which are perfectly fair without any harm in the essence of brotherhood and good conscience such as right to equality, right to education, right to life right to freedom of religion, etc. But if any person got arrested or detained under any criminal case then in this case all the rights can get surrender. Although an accused also has certain rights.
The whole legal system of India is totally stood upon the principle which says, ‘one is considered innocent until proven guilty’. These rights are given to an accused so that if he is not guilty and want himself free from all the charges, he can use these rights. This is because if the arrest of a person is unlawful then it can be a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India which talks about right to life, it states that ‘no human shall be denied of his right to life and personal liberty except if established by law’. It all means that the process must be clear, and totally fair and not arbitrarily.
RIGHTS OF AN ARRESTED PERSON
There are numerous rights which are given to an arrested person. These rights are provided by the law directed by the Indian Constitution. The first given to the arrested person is givel below: -
Right to Know the Grounds of Arrest
Article – 22(1) of the Constitution of India: This article gives the right to a person who resides in India that during his arrest he has the right to know the reason behind his arrest and police official should also give him a reason of arrest or the grounds of his detainment, it is a duty of a police officer which can’t refuse to do.
Section - 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): It states that every police officer who has given the authority to arrest someone without a warrant have to tell the person who is getting arrested about the crime he is done and on which grounds he is being arrested. Also, it is the duty of a police officer.
Section - 50A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): This section of CrPC states that it is compulsory for the police official to inform about the arrest of the person to his parents or relatives or any friend. It is compulsory for the person as well that if the police official couldn’t do his duty properly then he has this right, so that he can ask to inform his relatives about his arrest.
Article – 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): This section clearly states that if there is a situation when a police official commands his junior official to arrest somebody, then in this case the junior officer must notify the person whom he is arresting the order of delegation that is given to him and as well as he has to mention the crime of the person and the grounds of the arrest.
Section – 75 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): The section states that the police officer executing the warrant must notify the substance to the arrested person and has to furnish the warrant of arrest when it is necessary.
Right to be Produced before the Magistrate without unnecessary delay
Article – 22(2) of the Constitution of India: This article specifically states that the police official who arrested the accused must produce the accused before the magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest without any delay. If the police official fails to do above mentioned, then he would be liable for wrongful detention.
Section – 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: This section clearly states that if a police official is arresting someone without a warrant, then the police officer has to bring the arrested person before the Magistrate with the jurisdiction without any delay or produce him before the police officer in charge of the police station. It is totally depending on the situation and the condition of the arrest.
Section 76 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: It states that the arrested/accused person must be brought before the Magistrate in the court within 24 hours of his arrest. Also, the time must exclude from the time duration which is required for the journey from the place of arrest to the magistrate.
Right to be Released on Bail
Section – 50(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure: This section provides that the person who is arrested has the right to get released on bail by making arrangement for the sureties or just inform him the rights he has by the officer after the arrest without warrant for any offence but not in non-cognizable offence.
Right to Fair and Just Trial
The legal provision concerning the right to fair and just trial can be extracted from the Constitution of India. Also, there are many Supreme Court and High Court judgement since no particular law has been stipulated in this right.
Article – 14 of the Constitution of India: This article states that every person or individual is equal before the law. It clearly means that the principle of natural justice is there for both the parties, both the parties is treated equally in legal dispute.
Right to Consult a Lawyer
Article – 22(1) of the Constitution of India: This article provides to the accused person a right to choose or have and elect any lawyer he wants to defend himself during the trial for the crime which might or might not be committed by him.
Section – 42D of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): This allows the arrested person to be able to have a word with their lawyer even when he is in interrogation.
Section – 303 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC): This section allows the criminal to have a right to be defended by the lawyer he chose, regardless of whether the criminal procedures against him have effectively started.
Right to Free Legal Aid
Article – 39A of the Constitution of India: The government provided this article in an effort for securing the justice to provide legal aid to the individual/person who is need. This same right was reaffirmed in the case of Khatri vs. Bihar, in this case the court held that state must provide free legal aid to the poverty stricken accused personal.
Section – 304 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC): This section provides very particular right to every arrested person who will be appearing before a Sessions Court to appoint him a lawyer (which is free of cost) and the state will pay the lawyer after the judgement.
Right to Keep Quiet
This right to keep quiet is not mention in any Indian law book or anywhere. But its position can be gotten from CrPC just as the Indian Evidence Act. This right is totally related to the statements which is given by the accused or any confession given by him in the court of law. Also, it is the duty and responsibility of the Magistrate to see the statement which the accused is giving in the court was voluntarily or was he made the statement after use of force and manipulation.
Article – 2(2): This article talks about that no person whether he is accused or not, he cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself. In the case of Nandini Satpathy vs. P.L. Dani, in this case the court sees that no person can compel or force any other person to made any of the statement or answer any question because the person has the right to keep quiet during the interrogation.
Right to e Examined by a Doctor
Section – 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: This section asserts that if an accused claims that a medical examination of his body would lead to a detail that might lead to evidence towards commission of the crime by some other person or dismiss the facts of commission of the crime by him.
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