The Delhi High Court has disapproved of a practice where police arrest certain accused persons while leaving others untouched without a clear explanation, observing that such selective action cannot be accepted.
Justice Girish Kathpalia said the police must take a clear position on whether an accused person is to be arrested instead of adopting a “pick and choose” approach.
The Court made the observations while hearing the bail plea of Rajkumar, who is accused in a child trafficking case.
According to the case allegations, Rajkumar and another accused, Gayatri, allegedly posed as a married couple seeking to adopt an infant girl. The child was subsequently sold to another accused, Deepika, who allegedly transferred the child further.
The infant was reportedly the sixth daughter born to her biological parents.
Rajkumar maintained that he had been wrongly implicated because of his relationship with Deepika. It was also pointed out that another accused, Dr Kulvinder Kaur, had not been taken into custody.
The High Court noted that the investigating agency had not provided a satisfactory explanation for the failure to arrest Kaur. The police, however, informed the Court that she would be arrested.
The Court also expressed serious concern over the investigation, particularly the fact that the trafficked child had still not been traced despite the passage of two years since the registration of the FIR.
Justice Kathpalia described the manner in which the investigation had progressed as deeply troubling, noting that Rajkumar himself did not have custody of the child and that there was a possibility that she had been moved or sold elsewhere.
While refusing Rajkumar’s bail plea, the Court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police to take necessary steps to trace and recover the child.
A status report on the progress of the efforts has been sought within four weeks.
The Court also forwarded its order to the DCP, asking the officer to take note of its concerns over selective arrests and the need for a consistent approach while dealing with accused persons.
