The Karnataka High Court has held that the police cannot orally summon rowdy sheeters who are not currently involved in any criminal activity or suspected of committing an offence, observing that such a practice violates personal liberty.
Justice R Nataraj passed the order on December 4 while hearing a petition filed by Sunil Kumar, a resident of Hebbal in Bengaluru, whose name figured in the police rowdy sheet.
Kumar told the court that he had reformed and was leading a peaceful life, with no criminal cases pending against him. Despite this, he alleged that police officials frequently summoned him orally, subjected him to abuse during enquiries, and detained him without justification.
His counsel argued that these actions created a constant fear of wrongful detention and infringed his fundamental rights. It was also pointed out that neither the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita nor the Karnataka State Police Manual permits oral summons of rowdy sheeters in such circumstances.
The state defended the practice, submitting that it was common for police to call rowdy sheeters for brief enquiries and allow them to leave thereafter, without infringing their rights. It further contended that issuing formal notices to the large number of rowdy sheeters in Bengaluru was impractical.
The court rejected this justification, observing that in the absence of any legal provision authorising such summons, the police cannot rely on oral orders or detain individuals at police stations for prolonged periods.
“Such actions,” the court noted, “amount to violations of personal liberty” when the person is not accused or suspected of any offence.
Balancing individual rights with policing needs, the High Court directed that rowdy sheeters must provide a mobile number to the police, on which they can be summoned for enquiry through SMS or WhatsApp messages.
The court clarified that this protection would not apply if the individual is involved in criminal activity. It also permitted police to visit the person’s residence if there is no response to the electronic summons.
