13/05/2021
The Supreme Court observed that in appropriate cases, courts can order house arrest under Section 167 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
The court said that, to order house arrest, courts can consider criteria like age, health condition and the antecedents of the accused, the nature of the crime, the need for other forms of custody and the ability to enforce the terms of the house arrest. As regards post-conviction cases, the court said that it is open to the legislature to ponder over employing house arrests.
The bench of Justices UU Lalit and KM Joseph was considering the appeal filed by Gautam Navlakha (Bhima Koregaon Case) in which it considered the question whether the period of 34 days spent in house arrest by the appellant is to be counted towards the period of 90 days under Section 167 Cr.P.C.?
While dismissing the appeal, the bench noted that the house arrest in this case was not ordered purporting to be under Section 167 and thus cannot be treated as having being passed under Section 167. However, the court also, in its judgment considered, whether there be an order for custody other than police custody and judicial custody under Section 167 Cr.P.C.? In other words, the question considered was whether house arrest custody within the embrace of Section 167 of Cr.P.C.?
In concluding part of the judgment, it observed thus:
