Police attempt to arrest SFI Leader, retreat after MP John Brittas cites 1997 SC judgement

Delhi Police had to refrain from arresting Left student leader and former JNU Students’ Union President Aishe Ghosh after CPM Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas confronted the woman IPS officer who had arrived with her team at the party's headquarters, AKG Bhawan, in Gole Market, saying that by not wearing her uniform and name tag, she was violating key principles laid down in a 1997 Supreme Court judgment.

The police came looking for Ghosh, leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI), an arm of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, in the afternoon, prompting CPM General Secretary MA Baby to condemn the arrest and allege that Ghosh has been followed by the police.

Ghosh -- who was brutally beaten up on January 5, 2020, when a mob of around 50 masked individuals armed with iron rods, sticks and sledgehammers barged into the JNU campus -- had been on an indefinite hunger strike in solidarity with engineer-activist Sonam Wangchuk and other Gen Z protesters demanding the resignation of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

During the protests, which ended following Pradhan’s resignation on July 25, Ghosh had lashed out at the government over “continuous” and “intrusive” police surveillance of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protesters and others at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Speaking to Open, Brittas said that the attempt to arrest Ghosh was violative of the DK Basu vs State of West Bengal (1997) judgement of the Supreme Court of India on arrest, detention, and custodial violence. “The IPS officer who had come to arrest Aishe Ghosh at the CPM party office didn’t wear any uniform. Her justification was that it was raining. Neither did she identify herself. It is a flagrant violation of all laws of the land,” he said. The 1997 judgement mandates that during arrest and detention “police officers carrying out arrest must wear clear identification and name tags”. In addition, an arrest memo must be prepared and signed by the arrestee and a witness.

Other requirements include the following: “A friend, relative, or other person known to the arrested person must be informed of the arrest. The arrested person must be informed of the right to have someone notified of the arrest. Details of the arrest and place of detention must be entered in the station diary. The arrested person must undergo medical examination at the time of arrest and periodically thereafter. Copies of arrest documents must be sent to the Magistrate. The arrested person has the right to meet a lawyer during interrogation (though not throughout the entire interrogation) and a police control room must maintain information regarding arrests and detention.”

The CPM lawmaker also quoted Section 36 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which mandates certain safeguards that every police officer must follow while making an arrest.

Foremost is the identity of the police officer making the arrest. “The arresting officer must wear clear, visible, and accurate identification showing their name so they can be easily identified,” it says. Besides, a memorandum (memo) of arrest must be prepared which must be attested by at least one witness, preferably a family member of the arrested person or a respectable local resident. The memo also needs to be countersigned by the arrested person.

The Delhi Police wanted to arrest Aishe Ghosh in a 2021 Banga Bhawan protest case.

Writing on X, CPM chief Baby condemned what he described as “the illegal attempt by the Delhi Police to enter the CPI(M) Headquarters, AKG Bhavan.” The police arrived in a private vehicle, with some personnel not even in uniform, he added. “When CPI(M) MP John Brittas and other comrades forcefully intervened and challenged them, they left without carrying out their illegal attempt. It is learnt that for the past several days, Aishe Ghosh has been continuously followed, exposing a blatant campaign of intimidation against student leaders.” Baby also hit out at the Centre stating that it is using the police to criminalise dissent and silence those raising their voice against injustice instead of answering the legitimate concerns of students.

Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janata Party also came out with a statement on X, emphasising that the attempt to harass and intimidate Aishe Ghosh is cowardly and reprehensible. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attempts by Police forces across the country who are harassing student protesters.”