It is a common practice for prisoners to be brought handcuffed to trial courts such as the ones at Egmore or Saidapet. They wanted Judicial Magistrates to maintain a vigilant watch over this human rights violation and appropriate action initiated in accordance with the law. The Judges of the Madurai Bench, expressing concern over the continued practice, said it was painful to note the non-observance of the apex court directives by the police. The court ordered two police constables to pay a compensation of Rs.5,000 each for handcuffing a detainee without getting permission from the judicial magistrate concerned.ĭespite the Supreme Court order against the handcuffing of prisoners without judicial consent and the subsequent High Court directions to police and judicial authorities to scrupulously abide by the order, illegal handcuffing of undertrials is widely prevalent in trial courts across the State. Many in the police force in the State were apparently unaware that ‘handcuffing of an accused without necessary magistrate permission is illegal' until the Madurai High Court Bench centre-staged the issue in March.
