Court of Special Judge under MCOC Act: In an application filed by accused against jail authorities and Superintendent seeking directions against making the Under-Trial Prisoners (‘UTPs’) nude while conducting search, the Additional Sessions Judge, B.D. Shelke held the act in violation of fundamental right to privacy and issued directions for conducting personal search using scanner or electronic gadgets without causing humiliation to the UTPs.
The instant application was filed after being aggrieved by the search guard making the applicant nude before the prisoners and staff members while performing body checkup after he was taken back to jail after being produced before the Court. The applicant alleges the said act to be humiliating and in violation of right to privacy and that when he opposed the same, the searching guards used filthy, unparliamentary language against him, misbehaved and humiliated him and also, threatened him.
Thus, the applicant seeks directions against the Superintendent/Jail Authorities not to misbehave, humiliate and use filthy language against him and that his personal search be carried out using scanner/electronic gadgets.
The Court found some substance in the applicant’s contention since other UTPs also made similar complaints against the searching guard. The Court acknowledged that performing the search by making them nude is a violation of fundamental right to privacy of the UTPs and that using filthy and unparliamentary language is humiliating.
Hence, the Court issued the following directions:
-
Directed Superintendent and searching guards to conduct personal search of UTPs using scanner or electronic gadgets, whenever required.
-
If scanner/electronic gadget is unavailable and personal search of UTP has to be conducted physically, they are directed not to misbehave, humiliate or make the UTPs nude, not to use filthy-unparliamentary language against any of the UTPs including the applicant.
-
To carry out personal search following the rules without causing humiliation to the applicant.
[X. v. Y, 2023 SCC OnLine Dis Crt (Bom) 4, decided on 10-4-2023]
Order by: Additional Sessions Judge B.D. Shelke