Liberty of a person is sacred and cannot be curtailed illegally by invoking serious sections of the Indian Penal Code, the court observed.
The court's directions came as it discharged a man in a case of causing simple hurt, which was converted by the police into a serious offence of attempt to commit culpable homicide in the absence of any material.
The court said because of the police officials, the accused suffered incarceration for five days in judicial custody in a non-cognizable and bailable case.
"This court is of the opinion that the Commissioner of Police, Delhi must devise a standard operating procedure so as to prevent registration of cases of simple hurt as cases of culpable homicide not amounting to murder," Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma said.
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It asked the Police Commissioner to take administrative action against ACP Raj Kumar, Inspector Rajesh Vijay, the SHO of Khajuri Khas Police Station in north east Delhi, and Investigating Officer SI Sahab Singh, who were involved in investigating the case, and submit a report to the court within three months.
It also asked the Police Commissioner to issue a slew of directions to the cops including that no person should be arrested in a case under section 308 (culpable homicide) of IPC without written permission of ACP.