Police Escort Charges Meant To Prevent Person On Bail From Absconding But It Can't Be So Exorbitant To Virtually Curtail Relief: Punjab & Haryana HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently asked the Haryana government not to levy excessive or exorbitant charges for Police escorts while releasing a Convict on interim bail. 

The Convict-Appellant, in this case, had initially moved the High Court seeking temporary bail for a period of four weeks because of his wife being 32 weeks and 6 days into pregnancy with a due date in early March 2023. He had also pointed out in his petition that there was no one else in his family who could attend to her requirements.

The bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari delivered the Judgment.

The court had then directed the concerned Jail Superintendent to send two armed guards in plain clothing to accompany the convict-appellant to the hospital or to his home. The court had also directed that all costs associated with the boarding, accommodation, and transportation of the armed guards as well as the appellant were to be borne by him and not the state.

The Appellant subsequently filed an application disclosing the expenses charged by the state for enforcing the order calling it exorbitant and thereby seeking its modification.

Initially, the court noted that the reason why convicts are asked to furnish heavy personal and surety bonds is to ensure that they do not abscond from the process of justice.

The court then explained the reasoning behind the earlier order directing the Appellant to bear the expenses. The court said, "Therefore, primarily it was for forestalling the above ill consequence(s), as may arise from the indulgence of interim bail being granted to the applicant, that this Court has made the above order. Thus, the order is to be read as assisting Courts of law in the administration of criminal justice but for which rather the police agencies are meant. "

The court further clarified that the spirit of the last order was to ensure that the applicant's personal liberty is not interfered with, especially when a grave emergent circumstance is set forth.

However it added that the police agencies cannot ask for exorbitant expenses being furnished by the applicant for ensuring the compliance of the court’s order.

“The respondent concerned, has been completely unmindful of the above rather has levied charges in pursuance to the instructions placed today, which are completely non-applicable to the prisoner, and, which are but excessive and exorbitant, and, which but lead to rather even the limited privilege assigned to him, also being untenably curtailed,” Court said.

Allowing the application and directing the release of the applicant, the court ordered, “However, the charges which are to be levied upon the applicant shall be equivalent to the actual expenses which are to be incurred towards the transportation costs, and, towards the boarding and lodging of the armed escort, as, deployed along with applicant but for the period mentioned in the order. Thus, it is directed that the said instructions be not enforced in respect of the situation at hand. Contrarily, the respondent(s) concerned, is directed to evolve a mechanism directly relating to the situation at hand.”

Case Title: Tarif Hussain Vs. State of Haryana. Civil Writ Jurisdiction CRM-10377-2023 IN CRM-4604-2023 IN CRA-D-1048-2022

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (PH) 44

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