Madras HC rejects plea to free Fakruddin

Chennai: The Madras high court has dismissed a habeas corpus petition to produce ‘Police’ Fakruddin before the court and set him at liberty.

A division bench, comprising justices S. Rajeswaran and P.N. Prakash, dismissed the HCP filed by J. Abdul Rahim, a friend of Fakruddin.

The bench said the public prosecutor, appearing for the state, contended that when the police tried to secure Fakruddin, he initially resisted, and when he was overpowered, he denied that he was Fakruddin.

In such circumstances, it was imperative for the police to first satisfy themselves that they had apprehended the correct person for which minimum enquiry was essential. Effecting his formal arrest after satisfying themselves about the identity of the apprehended person cannot be faulted with.

Counsel for the petitioner expressed apprehension that if police were permitted to hold a person in their custody without arresting him, it would lead to gross violation of personal liberty guaranteed under Arti­cle 21 of the Constitution.

“We are conscious of this and are not giving a carte blanche to police to keep the persons in detention without placing him in arrest via this order. We hold under the facts and circumstances of this case that Veerakumar, inspector of police, had assisted in securing the said Fakru­ddin and the actual arrest was done by Annadurai, inspector of police, later and, hence, there is no contradiction between the reward G.O. and the police version,” the bench added.