Amend criminal law to reflect Amit Shah’s clarification on duration of police custody: Rights group
After the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita took effect on Monday, the home minister said that the maximum period of police custody would remain 15 days.
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Human rights organisation People’s Union for Civil Liberties on Friday urged the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre to amend a section of the recently implemented Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to clarify the maximum period of police custody allowed under the law.
The new law, which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, came into effect on Monday. Legal and civil rights activists had expressed concerns that it may allow the police to request custody of a person accused of a crime for as many as 60 to 90 days after their arrest, in addition the initial 15-day period of remand, reported The Hindu on Sunday.
Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah clarified in a press conference that the maximum period of police custody under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita would remain 15 days, with a provision to be extended up to a maximum of two months, reported The Indian Express.
“Earlier, if an accused was sent to police remand and he got himself admitted in a hospital for 15 days, there was no interrogation as his remand period would expire,” Shah had said.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties, however, pointed out that while Shah’s clarification is welcome, it is not sufficient as it does not have the force of law.
In a letter to Shah and Minister...
