I draw attention to today’s article in Hindu highlighting the plight of two Air India employees who have been charged under Section 66A and 67 following a complaint motivated by union rivalry.
It is stated that the Police in this case had arrested the accused from their homes in violation of Section 80 of ITA 2008.
The Police appear to have acted under the influence of some vested interests and exceeded their legal authority. Though the charges may be dismissed by the Court in due course, the accused has already been subjected to great inconvenience so far and will continue to suffer damages in various form to their reputation as well as their career prospects by virtue of the police excesses.
These are issues that are normally taken up under the Human Rights Violation.
However, for better relief, it is necessary that ITA 2008 itself should have a protective clause making police responsible and punishable for wrong use of the Act. In every case under ITA 2008, it should be mandatory for the Court to take a view on whether the charges were justified and if not, there should be a mandatory punishment for the police personnel involved. It could be token punishment in certain cases but where “Unjustified Arrest Without Warrant” is involved, there should be a more serious punishment.
Naavi
