Law commission recommends safeguards against abuse of FIR

ISLAMABAD: In order to check the misuse of police power where arrests are made merely on the basis of FIR, the Law Commission’s report on police reforms has proposed that only after due diligence, on the basis of sufficient evidence to be verified by DSP/SP in charge, an accused named in the FIR should be arrested.

The report, recently referred to the federal and provincial government for consideration and implementation, said, “Due diligence should entail that arrest should only be made after collection of sufficient evidence and should be verified by the DSP/SP in charge.”

It added that in deciding whether to allow arrest or use the option of bail, the SP shall be guided by the principles laid down in the Police Rules 26-1 and 26-2. In a bid to safeguard the general public against abuse of powers by police, the reportsaid the superior courts had time and against decreed that arrest should not follow automatically once an FIR had been registered.

“In order to prevent such abuse of power, it is proposed that the police should establish a process of due diligence based on the principles governing arrest as laid down in PR 26-1 and 26-2,” the report said, adding that these rules related to bailable offences and the rules must be followed.

The report added that due diligence procedure should also be conducted in offences that are non-bailable in accordance with the same principles. Rule 26-1 reads as: “General Powers of Arrest- Section 54 CrPC any Police officer to arrest without warrant who has been concerned in any cognizable offence, or against who a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or reasonable suspicion exists of his having been so concerned. The authority given under this section to the Police to arrest without warrant is however permissive and no obligatory. Whenever escape from justice or inconvenient delay is likely to result from the Police failing to arrest, they are bound to do so; but in no other cases. The law allows the Police officer to apply to a magistrate for a warrant or a summons instead of making arrest immediately, and this discretionary shall be exercised whenever possible and expedient.”

Rule 26-2 reads as: “Power to Defer Arrest- If the fact that suspicion rests on a particular person has been kept a secret, and there is no risk of his absconding, Police shall defer making the arrest until the investigation is sufficiently complete; but if any interference with the liberty of the accused person is necessary to prevent him from absconding, and the facts justify arrest, the Police shall arrest him and shall not interfere with his liberty unless they arrest him.”

The report also refers to a Supreme Court judgment, which says, “Ordinarily no person is to be arrested straight away only because he has been nominated as accused person in an FIR or in any other version of the incident brought to the notice of the investigating officer by any person until the investigating officer feels satisfied that sufficient justification exists for his arrest and for just justification he is to be guided by the relevant provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1989 and the Police Rules, 1934. According to the relevant provision of the said Code and Rules a suspect is not to be arrested straight away or as a matter of the Courts, unless the situation on the ground so warrants, the arrest is to be deferred till such time that sufficient material or evidence become available on the record of investigation prima facie satisfying the investigation officer regarding correctness of the allegations labelled against such suspect or regarding his involvement in the crime in issue.”