Was BJP's Tajinder Bagga's Arrest Illegal? What Rules Say

The arrest of BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga from Delhi by the Punjab Police has led to a huge controversy and brought focus to how interstate arrests should be handled.

A police team from Punjab, where Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP, is in power, had gone to Mr Bagga's Delhi home and arrested him amid high drama.

Later, while he was being taken to Punjab, the police team was stopped by their counterparts in Haryana, a BJP-ruled state, and Mr Bagga was handed over to the Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Home Ministry headed by BJP's Amit Shah.

Mr Bagga faces charges in a case filed in Punjab's Mohali district for allegedly making provocative statements on social media, promoting religious enmity and criminal intimidation.

A recent example of an interstate arrest is that of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, who was arrested by the Assam Police late at night from his home state and taken to the northeast state. Mr Mevani was later granted bail in the case filed against him for alleged Twitter posts targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here's a brief look at guidelines for inter-state arrests given by the Delhi High Court in an order to the Delhi Police and the Uttar Pradesh Police in December 2019:

1. "Before visiting the other state, the police officer must endeavour to establish contact with the local police station in whose jurisdiction he is to conduct the investigation. He must carry with him the translated copies of the complaint/FIR (first information report) and other documents in the language of the state which he intends to visit."

2. "After reaching the destination, first of all, the police officer should inform the police station concerned of the purpose of his visit to seek assistance and cooperation. The concerned SHO (station house officer) should provide all legal assistance to him. Entry to this effect must be made at the said police station."

3. "The arrested person must be given an opportunity to consult his lawyer before he is taken out of state."

4. "While returning, the police officer must visit the local police station and cause an entry made in the daily diary specifying the name and address of the person(s) being taken out of the state; articles if any, recovered. The victim's name be also indicated."

5. "Endeavor should be made to obtain transit remand after producing the arrestee before the nearest magistrate unless exigencies of the situation warrant otherwise and the person can be produced before the magistrate having jurisdiction of the case...within 24 hours."

6. "Since the arrestee is to be taken out of his state to a place away where he may not have any acquaintance, he may be permitted to take along with him (if possible), his family member/acquaintance to remain with him till he is produced before the jurisdictional magistrate. Such family member would be able to arrange legal assistance for him."

7. "The arrested person must be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate at the earliest, in any case, not beyond 24 hours from the date of arrest excluding the journey time so that arrest of such person and his detention, if necessary, may be justified by a judicial order. The 24 hours period...is the outermost limit beyond which a person cannot be detained in police custody. It does not empower a police officer to keep a person in police station a minute longer than is necessary for the purpose of investigation and it does not give him an absolute right to keep a person till 24 hours."

8. While Delhi Police claim that Punjab Police didn't follow the guidelines while arresting Mr Bagga, Punjab Police maintain all rules were followed.

9. These guidelines were issued to the Delhi Police and the UP Police by the Delhi High Court in 2019. However, despite the orders being in place, a controversy erupted over the arrest of environment activist Disha Ravi, where it was alleged that she was arrested in Bengaluru and brought to Delhi without any transit warrant.