Year : 2024, Volume : 6, Issue : 1
First page : ( 33) Last page : ( 41)
Print ISSN : 2582-4627. Online ISSN : 2582-7529. Published online : 2024 February 09.

Judicial Approach Towards Safeguarding the Rights of Arrested Persons

Dr. Sasan Navdeep Kour^*

^*Assistant Professor, Department of Law, University of Jammu

Online Published on 09 August, 2024.

Abstract

The fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India serve as a check on the powers of legislative as well as executive law-making bodies to ensure the rule of law. The power to abridge or violate the fundamental rights of an individual – a free person or an arrested and detained person, is subject to constitutional guarantees. The way a free individual enjoys fundamental rights, an arrested person too, to some extent, has been guaranteed such rights. The Constitution embodies the rule of law that dictates an unfanciful approach to dealing with arrested persons. It calls for authorities to follow an established procedure to ensure the application of constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention. To ensure compliance, the judiciary plays a pivotal role by upholding the inviolability of fundamental rights of arrested and detained persons. In doing so, it often interprets the constitutional and legal provisions in the broadest possible way to preserve the spirit of the Constitution. The approach of the judiciary has been tremendously active and supportive in protecting and upholding arrested persons’ rights. Various landmark judgments contribute to safeguarding the rights of such persons. As a general procedural law, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, furthermore, provides safeguards to prevent arbitrary arrest and inordinate use of power. It protects the rights of arrested persons by requiring arresting authorities to act in a certain manner. In this context, this article is an attempt to delve into the arena of rights and safeguards available to arrested and detained persons under the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code and how the judiciary has been instrumental in protecting them. The need for a vigilant judicial approach and what predicaments courts confront while dealing with arbitrary use of powers of arrest and detention by the authorities have been also dealt with in the paper.

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Keywords

Arrested Persons, Criminal Procedure Code, Fundamental Rights, Judicial Activism, Rule of Law.

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