Jharkhand HC Sentences Cops For Unlawful Arrest Of Flipkart Employees Over Alleged OTP Misuse, Says Arnesh Kumar Guidelines Were Ignored

Recently, the Jharkhand High Court has charged two police officers with criminal contempt for unlawfully arresting two Instakart employees, in agency which acts as a logistics arm within the Flipkart Group of Companies, in violation of Supreme Court guidelines set out in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar. The Court further noted, “Personal liberty is an important fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India and unless there is an absolute necessity for arrest, personal liberty cannot be taken away in this arbitrary manner as was done by Opposite Party Nos.2 and 3.” The case pertained to allegations of fraud involving OTP misuse and delivery of goods through Myntra. 2 and 3.” The court while drawing attention to the failure of the officers to adhere to the procedural safeguards referred to the Apex Court's decision in the case of Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation, 2022, which mandates compliance with Sections 41 and 41-A CrPC. The Apex Court had reiterated that, “liberty is one of the most essential requirements of the modern man and that, innocence of a person accused of an offence is presumed through a legal fiction, placing the onus on the prosecution to prove the guilt before the Court.” The Court sentenced the Officer In-Charge and the Investigating Officer to one month's simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 each.