The Andhra Pradesh High Court has asked all judicial magistrates to comply with the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the Arnesh Kumar judgement and Imran Pratapgarhi case judgement in cases pertaining to arrest over social media posts. The order has been given regarding magistrates allowing police or judicial custody of accused in cases related to social media posts.
The High Court stated that all magistrates are required to follow the Supreme Court’s direction scrupulously, and any violation of the guidelines would invite a contempt of the High Court, apart from departmental inquiry.
In the Arnesh Kumar Vs The State of Bihar case, the Supreme Court issued guidelines mandating that police officers must record reasons for arrest in writing and only proceed with arrest if necessary, especially in cases where the punishment is less than seven years of imprisonment.
In the Imran Pratapgarhi Vs State of Gujarat, the SC had given the verdict that before registering an FIR in cases involving free speech, writing or artistic expression, on charges that involve 3-7 years of imprisonment, the police must conduct a preliminary enquiry first.
