Bombay High Court declares Arun Ferreira's 2011 arrest illegal

The Bombay High Court has ruled that activist Arun Ferreira's arrest in September 2011 over his alleged membership of a Naxal group was illegal and ordered the Maharashtra government to pay him Rs 2 lakh as compensation, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The court said Ferreira was arrested as he left Nagpur prison after being acquitted in all cases pending against him at the time. It held that the arrest violated the constitutional safeguards protecting his liberty and rights during arrest and detention.

In its October 27 judgment, the Nagpur bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Raj Wakode criticised the police for describing Ferreira as absconding even though he had been in jail since 2007.

Ferreira was arrested in several cases in 2007. After being acquitted in all of them, he was due to be released from Nagpur prison in September 2011. However, as soon as he left the jail, a police team stopped him, took him away in a vehicle and later showed him as having been arrested by the Gadchiroli police, according to PTI.

In his petition, Ferreira said he was not informed of the grounds for his arrest at the time. The High Court held that the police had violated his fundamental rights under Article 21, which protects the right to liberty, and Article 22, which provides safeguards against arrest and detention.

The court said that when the police, whose primary responsibility is to protect the law, violate it, the punishment must be proportionately stringent to serve as a deterrent and instil confidence in society.

It also referred to the Maharashtra Police motto, 'Sadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanaya', meaning 'to protect the good and to punish the evil', and said it needed to be respected. The court added that law enforcement agencies have a duty not only to an accused person but also to the state and the wider community.

The police opposed Ferreira's petition, arguing that secrecy was necessary because of his alleged Naxal links. The bench rejected the argument and held that the constitutional duty to disclose the reasons for an arrest applies without exception.

Ferreira is also an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case and is currently out on bail. The High Court's ruling declared his 2011 arrest illegal and directed the Maharashtra government to compensate him for the violation of his fundamental rights.- Ends