The accused was handcuffed and tied with a chain in the ICU, SC said – gross violation of fundamental rights.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has taken very seriously the incident of the accused in the fraud case being handcuffed and tied to the bed with a chain during his/her admission in the ICU. The Supreme Court said that this is a gross violation of the right to life and liberty. The Supreme Court strongly reprimanded the Haryana government for this. The Supreme Court sought reply from the Additional Advocate General appearing on behalf of the Haryana government. In the affidavit filed in the court, it was said that when he/she was in the ICU, he/she had handcuffs in his/her hands. An application was filed on behalf of the accused Vihaan Kumar in the bench led by Justice AS Oka of the Supreme Court, challenging his/her arrest. The petitioner challenged the decision of the Punjab-Haryana High Court in this case. The High Court had rejected the petition challenging the arrest. The petitioner claimed in his/her petition that when he/she was admitted to PGIMS, Rohtak, he/she was tied to the ICU bed with a chain. During this time his/her hands were also handcuffed.

During the hearing of the case, on October 4, the court had directed the Medical Superintendent of the hospital to file an affidavit and give information about the case. On October 19, an affidavit was presented by the Medical Superintendent of PGIMS Rohtak, in which the handcuffs were accepted.

‘The medical board of the hospital should present the health condition report of the accused’
The Supreme Court has asked the Medical Superintendent of the hospital to submit an additional affidavit. The Supreme Court directed that the accused be examined by the Medical Board of Safdarjung Hospital and a report be submitted regarding his/her health condition. The Supreme Court has sought a report in the case by Thursday and has fixed Friday for the next hearing. The court has said that it wants to know which officers were responsible for this. During this, Additional Solicitor General Deepak Thukral said that the handcuffs of the accused were removed when he/she had to go for urine etc.

The petitioner says that he/she was detained from his/her Gurgaon office on June 10, 2024. The accused has challenged the legality of the arrest and said he/she was not produced before a magistrate’s court within 24 hours of being taken into custody.

rights to life comprehensive
Article 21 talks about Right to Life and Personal Liberty. That means right to life and liberty. Life should not be like that of an animal, rather the right to life is a dignified life and its scope is very wide. Every person has the right to live a dignified life. There cannot be interference in this. As long as we are breathing, human rights are protected. Even if someone has been sentenced to death, his/her right to life is protected until he/she is hanged, that is, human rights are protected till his/her last breath.

In the present case, the Supreme Court has made reference to the right to life. The decision given by the Supreme Court in this matter may prove to be far-reaching.