HC: In the name of PT Warrant prisoner cannot be kept in detention without producing him before Jurisdictional Court [Read Order]

In a recent ruling it was held by the Madras High Court that the prisoner cannot be under remand under the aegis of PT Warrant, the prisoner needs to be present before concerned court without any delay.

Background of the Case

The ruling came pursuant to a case of two petitioners who faced inordinate delay for being produced for remand, and thus were compelled to approach the Madras High Court in order to seek relief.

Observation of the Court

The High Court vividly stated the objective of the PT Warrant and stated that PT Warrant cannot be used for the purpose of keeping a person in detention without his/her presentation being made physically before the concerned court and delay in physical presentation will certainly infringe the right to personal liberty of an individual, and nor it can ever be justified under the garb of transit warrant.

The object of the PT Warrant as stated by the court is to only to direct the production of a person who is confined or detained in prison by lawful means. In the words of the Court:

“Such a Warrant cannot be interpreted to mean that the same will authorize the Police to curtail the liberty of a person by keeping the accused person in custody till he is produced before the concerned court.”

Thus the Court observed that prisoners arrested under the aegis of PT Warrant while in custody for other cases must be produced without any delay before the concerned court, as the non- presentation will consequently result in gross violation of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Several precedents were cited to further strengthen the ruling. Notably, it was observed by the court that such inordinate delay will also affect the default bail as the calculation of days spent in detention in order to execute the default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of a Criminal
Procedure will become improper.

Reasoning of the Court

“If an accused person is produced before the Court with an inordinate delay and thereafter if he is remanded to judicial custody, the custody of the accused person in the concerned case will be calculated only from the date of his remand and the period prior to it where he was kept under detention on the strength of PT Warrant, will not be taken into consideration. Such a practice has been deprecated by this Court and such delay in producing the accused person before the Court after a formal arrest through a P.T. warrant, will certainly violate the liberty guaranteed under Article 21of the Constitution of India.”

Case Details

Before: Madras High Court

Case Title: M Kishore v. Inspector of Police

Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice N.Anand Venkatesh

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