HC REFUSES TO AMEND CrPC

The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition questioning the validity of Section 41 (1) (b) of CrPC.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J. Uma Devi while dismissing the petition by Mandalika Subbaraya Sastry through his GPA holder P. Durga Devi held: “In the exercise of its extraordinary jurisdiction, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, this court would neither exercise the power of making laws nor would it issue a Mandamus to the Legislature to make any such law.”

The bench noted that Section 41(1) (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code required a police officer to record, while making or not making an arrest, his reasons in writing.

The bench noted that the section applied only to cases where a cognisable offence was committed and which was punishable with imprisonment for a term of up to seven years.

The petitioner contended that the section should be amended to make it applicable even for cognisable offences punishable with imprisonment for less than three years.

The bench made it clear that “Whether or not a cognisable offence, punishable with imprisonment for a term of three years should be stipulated as the requirement for a police officer to arrest any per- son without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant; or whether it should be for a lesser or a higher period, are all matters for the competent Legislature to decide.”