This article has been written by Ms. Shristi Mishra, a student studying B.A.LL.B. from Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida. The author is a 3rd-year law student.
Introduction
The right to individual freedom One of the most fundamental human rights is envisioned in many human rights conventions and Article 21 of the Constitution. A person’s right to habeas corpus, which translates as “to produce the body,” protects them from being arbitrarily and illegally detained. Whether the person has been arrested by the legal process is determined by the habeas corpus petitions. One of the five writs by which a person may request the Supreme Court or the High Courts to uphold his fundamental rights is habeas corpus.
Features of Habeas Corpus
The characteristics of the habeas corpus writ are detailed below:
The primary function of the writ of habeas corpus is that of an inquiry; it is granted by the courts to determine the reasons behind a person’s incarceration. As a result, it serves as a procedural defense against the legal authorities, particularly their right to detain.
Also, the court will order the person’s immediate release if there are insufficient justifications for the arrest.
The writ of habeas corpus acts as a procedural tool by which executive, judicial, or other governmental limitations on human liberty are subjected to court scrutiny. It is a basic tool for defending an individual’s freedom against arbitrary and unlawful state action. The Writ of Habeas Corpus cannot be used to challenge earlier unlawful detentions since it is a remedy available to a person who has lost his personal liberty.
But, as was done in the case of Rudul Shah v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court has broadened the scope of this writ and now grants compensation not just for past unlawful detentions but also for loss of life.
A friend or any other person may approach the court on behalf of the detainee in some circumstances because personal liberty is such an inalienable right, and judicial pronouncements have relaxed the Locus Standi rule as a result. In general, the petition will be filed by the person who has been unlawfully detained.
Habeas Corpus – When can it be availed and invoked?
The following situations allow for the use of the writ of habeas corpus:
The right to personal liberty is a fundamental right under Article 21 to enforce fundamental rights. Hence, the High Court or the Supreme Court will order the release of the person from imprisonment by virtue of a writ of Habeas Corpus if the executive arrests or detains a person without the power of law or in violation of the procedure provided by law.
The writ may also be issued if the arrest or detention is illegal under the statute that permits such actions. The case of Keshav v. Commissioner of Police involved invoking and applying this concept.
The following situations, however, exclude the use of the writ of habeas corpus:
- Whether the person the writ is issued against or the person in custody is not within the Court’s jurisdiction.
- The supreme court also ruled in Janardhan v. State that a person who has been jailed by a court of law on a criminal charge is not eligible for release under the terms of the writ.
- This writ cannot also be used to intervene in a Parliament or court of the record contempt proceeding.
In Addl. District Magistrate, Jabalpur v. Shukla, it was decided that while Article 21 was suspended, an order of preventive detention could not be challenged, even if it violated the parent Act (i.e, the Act relating to preventive detention). The 44th Amendment, which was ratified in 1978, stipulates that Article 21, which deals with personal liberty, cannot be suspended under any circumstances. This has improved personal freedom and ensured that the writ of habeas corpus is still effective in times of crisis. The Supreme Court explained the breadth and depth of this writ in the State of Maharashtra v. Bhaurao Punjabrao Gawande. The Court noted that because it offers a swift and efficient remedy against unlawful detention, the writ of habeas corpus has been referred to as a significant constitutional right or the first security of civil liberty. The Court directs the detaining authority to bring the person’s body before the Court by the use of this writ so that the Court may determine the legality, jurisdiction, or legitimacy of the arrest or imprisonment. The immediacy with which the writ of habeas corpus must be resolved is one of its main features, and it is in this context that both the Supreme Court and the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir have displayed attitudes that are, to put it mildly, alarming. Many habeas corpus petitions were submitted in the two forums mentioned above after Article 370 was repealed on August 5th, 2019, but the courts have repeatedly postponed these cases, putting the petitioners in limbo.
The writ of habeas corpus is a check on state authority to restrict an individual’s freedom; its primary goal is to assure the prompt review of wrongful detentions. The writ of habeas corpus has effectively been used by the Indian judiciary in several cases, mostly to secure the release of a person from unlawful confinement. In India, the right to personal liberty has always been revered, and the writ of habeas corpus safeguards it in the event of an unlawful arrest or incarceration. Because personal freedom is so crucial, the judiciary has abandoned the conventional locus standi doctrine. So, any other person may move a petition on behalf of a detained individual if that person is not in a position to do so themselves. The judiciary has gone a step further and abandoned tight pleadings regulations. The following instances ruled by the Indian judiciary may be used to explain the expanding reach of the writ of habeas corpus.
- In Kanu Sanyal v. District Magistrate 4, the Supreme Court explained the true extent of the writ of habeas corpus and held that while handling a petition for the writ, the court might review the validity of the incarceration without needing the detainee to appear before it.
- In Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra 5, the supreme court relaxed the customary locus standi concept by ruling that someone else may pray for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of the detained individual if he or she is unable to do so.
- In Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa 6, the Orissa police took the petitioner’s son away for questioning and left no sign of him. While the petition was pending, his body was discovered on a railroad track. A compensation of Rs. 1,50,000 was granted to the petitioner.
- In Malkiat Singh v. State of U.P. 7, it was claimed that police officials had illegally detained a person’s son. It was determined that the boy was slain during a police contact. The petitioner received Rs. 5,00,000 in compensation from the court.
Conclusion
Only when the rights outlined in this holy instrument are put into practice on the ground do the Constitution’s language or spirit remain valid? The constitutional courts are tasked with carrying out such implementation, and when they fail to do so, as they did in the infamous Habeas Corpus case, democracy and the rule of law are undermined. The Supreme Court’s stance in recent years with petitions involving Kashmiri political figures, anti-CAA protesters, and other dissidents has likewise followed a trend that raises serious concerns about the protection of both the right to personal liberty and the independence of the court. Constitutional rights will amount to nothing if this trend is not reversed.
References
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