Madras HC bars police inquiry sans written summons

CHENNAI: To check harassment by police on the pretext of inquiry, Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan of the Madras high court has ordered that any person required in connection with a complaint must be summoned only through written summons specifying date and time of appearance.

The minutes of the inquiry must be recorded in the general diary and no officer should harass anyone under the guise of inquiry, the judge said. The court was passing the order on a plea by S Prakash, Meenakshi Ammal, P Karpagavalli and Kumaresan alleging harassment by an inspector, Tiruppur district crime branch. Justice Ilanthiraiyan made it clear that unfettered powers vested with investigation officers to hold inquiry in both non-cognizable and cognizable offences should be exercised within the framework of CrPC.