The legal fraternity on Tuesday appealed for availing free and competent legal service in pre-arrest, after arrest and during trial from District Legal Services Authority, Tamenglong (DLSA), Tamenglong through the Front office and Legal Aid Clinics.
The resource persons made the appeal on an online legal awareness programme organised DLSA, Tamenglong on the topic ‘Challenges faced by various stakeholders in the administration of criminal Justice amidst COVID-19 pandemic with special focus on Arrest, Remand and Bail’.
District and Sessions Judge, Imphal West Aribam Guneshwar Sharma who is also the chairman, DLSA, Tamenglong, delivered the keynote address. He said that the police should not arrest any person for cases where alleged offence is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years or below or with fine or with both “unnecessarily and mechanically.” The magistrate concerned should also not authorise detention in a routine manner, he added.
Advocate Ch Momon Singh highlighted fundamental rights of arrested persons guaranteed under the Constitution of India. He also focused on the relevant provisions of arrest, remand and bail under CrPC. He further said that police should not arrest the accused who are alleged to have committed any offence punishable up to seven years or below unnecessarily. If a person is arrested for those offences for which punishment is for seven years or below, reasons and materials necessitating arrest shall be given in the checklist, he added.
He further said that for children in conflict with law, they are to be dealt with under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. He also spoke on importance of age determination of apprehended person at initial stage of the investigation so as to avoid miscarriage of justice.
He stressed on all the directions, guidelines given by the Supreme Court in ‘DK Basu -Vs- State of West Bengal’, ‘Sheela Barse –Vs- State of Maharashtra’, ‘Arnesh Kumar –Vs- State of Bihar’ and ‘Re-contagion of COVID 19 Virus in Prisons’ for better understanding of laws declared by Supreme Court under Article 141 of the Constitution of India.
PLVs, NGOs, Students, Youth organisations and local clubs etc. of Tamenglong district took part in the programme.
