The High Court has said that until the rules are formulated, rowdy sheeters cannot be summoned verbally on suspicion, even if they are not involved in criminal acts, just because their names are on the list.
BENGALURU
The High Court has held that verbally summoning rowdy sheeters to the police station and detaining them for a long time would violate an individual’s personal freedom, and said that the government cannot justify such developments.
A bench headed by Justice R Nataraj passed this order while hearing a petition filed by rowdy sheeter Silent Sunil seeking an appropriate order from the Home Department regarding the verbal summoning of rowdies to the police stations. It also directed that appropriate rules should be framed in this regard. In addition, until the rules are framed, rowdy sheeters cannot be summoned verbally on suspicion even if their names are on the list of names and they are not involved in criminal acts. Instead of verbal summons, they can be summoned by sending an SMS or WhatsApp message.
The bench said that the petitioners should provide their mobile numbers to the Subrahmanya Nagar, Yelahanka Sub-district, Rajajinagar and Amruthahalli police stations where cases have been registered against them. Also, if the investigating officers do not appear at the station even after sending a mobile message, they can visit their homes for questioning. The bench said that if the alleged rowdy sheeter is involved in a criminal act, this order will be automatically cancelled.
When Alok Kumar was the Additional Commissioner, Silent Sunil was called to the police station and warned. Those scenes went viral on social media. Therefore, Silent Sunil approached the High Court seeking appropriate directions.
Out of the 24 cases registered against him in various police stations, all the cases have ended in acquittal and those cases have been quashed by the court. Except for rowdy sheeter, there are no pending cases against him. However, under the pretext of keeping an eye on him, he is being arrested without any reason and summoned and verbally abused.
There is no procedure in the Karnataka Police Manual or the Indian Penal Code 2023 that prescribes the manner in which a person whose name is on the rowdy list is summoned. However, the petitioner had approached the court alleging that the respondents were summoning him orally.
