MUMBAI:
Legal experts and activists have expressed shock at how the cops in
Palghar "displayed lack of sensitivity and violated rules" when they
summoned two young women to the police station at night over an internet
comment on Sunday's shutdown.
The law, they say, is clear that the cops cannot summon a woman as a witness to the police station. Instead, they are mandatorily required to go to the woman's house to record her statement. Besides, they cannot arrest a woman between sunset and sunrise except under "exceptional circumstances".
The law, they say, is clear that the cops cannot summon a woman as a witness to the police station. Instead, they are mandatorily required to go to the woman's house to record her statement. Besides, they cannot arrest a woman between sunset and sunrise except under "exceptional circumstances".
The police arrested Shaheen Dhada (21) for her post on a social
networking site protesting against the shutdown in Mumbai following Bal
Thackeray's death. They also nabbed her friend Rinu Shrinivasan (20),
who had 'liked' the comment. The arrests came after local Shiv Sainiks
in Palghar objected to the post. A mob also vandalized a clinic run by
Shaheen's uncle.
"The police action shows complete violation of Sections 46(4) and 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which prohibit cops from arresting a woman between dusk and dawn and calling a woman to a police station to record her statement," said lawyer Y P Singh, who is also a former IPS officer.
Meanwhile, his wife Abha Singh moved the women's commission seeking action against the police for their "unlawful action". Lawyers also said the arrest of the two young women would not stand the test of law in a court, if challenged.
Veteran lawyer and activist Flavia Agnes, whose NGO Majlis fights for women's rights, said: "This was not such a serious offence that it required the police to call the girls at night and later arrest them."
Another activist and senior faculty member at SNDT Women's University, Vibhuti Patel, said it was "a sad comment" that "despite three decades of interaction, gender sensitization and training workshops conducted for the Maharashtra police by a women's NGO in Pune, the cops seemed to have learnt little". She said the state public relations department, too, has done much work for 30 years to sensitize cops. Yet, she added, rules are flouted with no fear of the consequences.
Women's rights activist Veena Gowda said the online post "did not reveal any offence or even an intention to commit an offence".
Earlier this year, a division bench of the Bombay high court—while reminding the Mumbai police of their motto (committed to protecting the righteous and controlling & annihilating the evil)—directed the state to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 each to some women who were arrested and detained after sunset in an alleged case of gambling.
Recently, the police commissioner submitted a circular to the high court directing cops not to summon women to police stations and asking them to comply with Section 160 of the CrPC.
The National Human Rights Commission, too, has issued guidelines directing that women should not to be arrested after sunset and before sunrise or called to a police station to get their statement recorded. Besides, a woman officer has to be present when the police deal with cases involving women. Gowda said, "The duty of the police is not merely to register and probe offences, but also to safeguard the freedom and rights of people, especially women."
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"The police action shows complete violation of Sections 46(4) and 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which prohibit cops from arresting a woman between dusk and dawn and calling a woman to a police station to record her statement," said lawyer Y P Singh, who is also a former IPS officer.
Meanwhile, his wife Abha Singh moved the women's commission seeking action against the police for their "unlawful action". Lawyers also said the arrest of the two young women would not stand the test of law in a court, if challenged.
Veteran lawyer and activist Flavia Agnes, whose NGO Majlis fights for women's rights, said: "This was not such a serious offence that it required the police to call the girls at night and later arrest them."
Another activist and senior faculty member at SNDT Women's University, Vibhuti Patel, said it was "a sad comment" that "despite three decades of interaction, gender sensitization and training workshops conducted for the Maharashtra police by a women's NGO in Pune, the cops seemed to have learnt little". She said the state public relations department, too, has done much work for 30 years to sensitize cops. Yet, she added, rules are flouted with no fear of the consequences.
Women's rights activist Veena Gowda said the online post "did not reveal any offence or even an intention to commit an offence".
Earlier this year, a division bench of the Bombay high court—while reminding the Mumbai police of their motto (committed to protecting the righteous and controlling & annihilating the evil)—directed the state to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 each to some women who were arrested and detained after sunset in an alleged case of gambling.
Recently, the police commissioner submitted a circular to the high court directing cops not to summon women to police stations and asking them to comply with Section 160 of the CrPC.
The National Human Rights Commission, too, has issued guidelines directing that women should not to be arrested after sunset and before sunrise or called to a police station to get their statement recorded. Besides, a woman officer has to be present when the police deal with cases involving women. Gowda said, "The duty of the police is not merely to register and probe offences, but also to safeguard the freedom and rights of people, especially women."
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