If the government has its way, petty and non-habitual criminals like thieves, cheats, those accused of causing minor hurt and those involved in rash and negligent driving not leading to death among others -- which attract less than seven years of imprisonment -- may not be arrested unless convicted for their crimes.
The provision is one among a series of changes approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. The changes will be incorporated in the CrPC (Amendment) Bill 2006 which is likely to be brought in Parliament during the monsoon session in July-August.
Making arrest the "last possibility" in cases of minor offences, the Cabinet pitched for amendment in section 41 of CrPC (relating to power of police to arrest) so that the powers to arrest "must be exercised after reasonable care and justification" that such arrest was necessary and required under the section.
Though the changes do not completely rule out arrest, the police will have to provide justification on four counts before bringing any suspect to the lock-up if his/her crime falls under non-cognizable offence.
Under the provision, the offender can only be arrested if the police thinks that the accused may run away or he/she may commit the crime again or he/she may not appear before the cops during investigation or may disrupt the probe by any means if he/she remained out of the lock-up.
Click on "Full Story" For More...
