New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that it was not mandatory for the police to keep a lady constable present while arresting a woman at any time of the day or night if they felt that securing the presence of a lady constable would delay the process of law.

The order was given by a Bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice B P Singh while modifying a direction of the Bombay High Court that "no female persons shall be detained or arrested without the presence of a lady constable and in no case, after sun-set and before sun-rise".

The High Court direction had come in a sordid case in which one Junious Adam Illamatti was taken into custody by the Crime Branch of Nagpur Police on June 23, 1993. While in police custody he was found dead. When his wife Jarina Adam went to the police station to inquire about her husband, she was locked up and molested by police.

The Maharashtra Government had sought modification of the High Court direction prohibiting arrest of a lady after sun-set and before sun-rise as well as making presence of a lady constable during arrest at the daytime as mandatory.

The apex Court Bench agreed with the object behind the direction issued by the High Court but said "we think a strict compliance of the said direction, in a given circumstance, would cause practical difficulties to the investigating agency and might even give room for evading the process of law by unscrupulous accused.

Justice Hegde, writing for the Bench, said while it was necessary to protect the female sought to be arrested by police from police misdeeds, it might not be always possible and practical to have the presence of a lady constable when the necessity for such arrest arises.

Modifying the High Court directive, the Bench said the object would be served if it was said that "while arresting a female person, all efforts should be made to keep a lady constable present."

However, the presence of a lady constable was not to be insisted on if the arresting officers felt that such a constable was not immediately available or securing her presence would delay the arrest impeding the course of investigation, the Bench said.

The apex Court said the reasons for not securing the presence of a lady constable while arresting a female would be recorded in writing by the arresting officer either before the arrest or immediately thereafter.

Once the conditions were fulfilled, the police would be "permitted to arrest a female person for lawful reasons at any time of the day or night depending on the circumstances of the case even without the presence of a lady constable", the Bench said.

PTI