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Punjab and Haryana High Court issued Notice to Haryana Government against the Midnight Detention of Over 100 Farmers
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday (25th November) sent a notice to the Haryana Government in a habeas corpus plea filed by an advocacy group formed by farmers from different parts of the State, working for the welfare of the farmers who are seeking the release of over 100 farmers detained at midnight during the farmers’ bill protest in Delhi.
The Bench of Justice Sant Prakash heard the Habeas Corpus petition submitted before the Court by Petitioner ‘Haryana Progressive Farmers Union- Sabka Mangal Ho.’, requesting for the direction to release of over 100 farmers who were wrongfully arrested at midnight by police from several districts of Haryana, stating that they were being arrested because of their agitation and protest against the state policies at Delhi.
Contents of the Petition-
The said Petition was filed in response to the “illegal midnight raids and illegal custody of farmers by Haryana Police to curb the peaceful protest conducted by farmers’ association against three proposed farm bills- which are considered as anti-farmer by the farmers.”
The Petition was filed through Advocates Pradeep Kumar Rapria, Harinder Pal Singh and Parveen Kumar, the Petition mentions that the houses of farmers were raided at midnight around 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
The Petition states that many farmers’ associations from different parts of the country have decided to march towards Delhi on 26th and 27th November in order to protest against the three farm bills- considered as an anti-farmer, after the failure of talking to the central government.
The plea says, “The government wants to suppress the voice of people by wrongfully arresting and detaining them for preventive measures. The farmers who are innocent were unlawfully arrested at mid night without any reason or offence and this is the violation of Article 19, 22 and 22 of the Constitution of India.”
Legal Points mentioned in the Petition-
- The convicted persons were sent to different jails and their relatives and families have not been informed about the arrest, which is compulsory for Article 22 of the Constitution of India and Section 50-A of the Cr. P.C. which says that the person making arrest must inform about the arrest to the family members.
- The provisions of section 151 Cr. P.C. is to prevent the commission of cognizable offence and person arrested is not an offender but the arrest to prevent him from committing any offence in nearest future.
- The Person arrested under Section 151 Cr. P.C. cannot be detained for more than 24 hours unless required.
Court’s Order-
The Court observed that the detention is a clear violation of Article 19, 21, and 22 of the Constitution of India and issued a notice to the Additional Advocate General, Haryana, who accepted the notice and requested for some time to submit a status report.
The matter will be heard on 26th November.
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