Will issue circular on guidelines while making arrests, Guj govt tells HC

The state government Tuesday told the Gujarat High Court that it will issue a circular within a week asking police to strictly adhere to the 'D K Basu guidelines' concerning how they should behave when arresting, detaining or interrogating a person.

The government also told the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav that it will include the D K Basu guidelines in the curriculum of the state police academy.

The government's undertaking came in response to a PIL filed in the court highlighting how policemen were flouting mandatory requirements that have to be followed when arresting, detaining or interrogating any person as laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1997 DK Basu vs West Bengal case.

Bhautik Bhatt, a social worker, filed the PIL "to prevent the rising trend in Gujarat of handcuffing various accused persons after their arrest by the police, taking them in public places where the accused persons are severely beaten and humiliated in public .