Summary:
“It is painful that relatives of the accused and others see the undertrial in handcuffs on the court premises.”Johan alleged that the police handcuff one undertrial with another. “When I told them that it is a violation of human rights, I was beaten up,” he alleged.He further added that handcuffing an undertrial is only permitted after the court’s consent, but it is not followed in Mangaluru. Meanwhile, the police themselves are unaware that handcuffing of an accused without getting permission from the magistrate is illegal.Johan, who spent about two weeks in the Mangaluru district jail , said that thrice during his hearing as an undertrial, police took him to the court in handcuffs. MANGALURU: A human rights activist who had been in judicial custody , has alleged that rampant handcuffing of undertrials has been taking place in Mangaluru , despite it being in violation of a Supreme Court order Johan Sequeira, an activist from Mangaluru, alleged that the police shackled him along with a person accused in a murder case, and has written to the city police commissioner to stop the inhuman practice. He alleged that they remove the handcuffs from the undertrial before entering the court hall, so that the magistrate does not see it.Johan said that according to a Supreme Court judgment, the police cannot handcuff an undertrial unless a magistrate grants permission, except in rare circumstances—for example, if the prisoner is prone to violence, or likely to escape..