Difference Between Police Custody And Judicial Custody

INTRODUCTION

What is Custody?

The word ‘custody’ means apprehending someone for protective care. The words “custody” and “arrest” are not synonymous. It is true that in every arrest there is custody but vice versa is not true. Mere utterance of words or gesture or flickering of eyes does not amount to arrest. Actual seizure or touch of a person’s body with a view to arresting is necessary.

Arrest, remand and bail are components related to investigation. Arrest directly curtails personal liberty of an individual. It strikes at his freedom. Therefore, many a time’s unwarranted arrests have reached courts of law. There have been occasions when unlawful detention has been considered as a violation of fundamental right and compensation thereof has been paid.

Speaking broadly there are two types of Custody:

1. Police Custody
2. Judicial Custody

What is Police custody?

It is actually the custody of a suspect with the police in a jail at the police station, to detain the suspect.

When a person reports/complaints or inform police about any other person than following to that the police officer will arrest that person. The police arrest the suspects involved in the matter and prevent them from committing any further crime. As per Section 167 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 the person should be produced before the Magistrate in 24 hours (excluding traveling time from the place of arrest) with the evidence against him.

Whenever the police take custody of a person, then he may seek time to keep custody of the magistrate under section 167 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for 15 days for further investigation. A judicial magistrate can send back any person to the police station for further inquiry and investigation for the period of maximum 15 days but in some cases this custody might also get extended upto 30 days.

What is judicial custody?

Judicial Custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned Magistrate. In former, the accused is lodged in police station lockup while in latter, it is the jail. It means that the person will be kept in prison on the order of the relevant magistrate. But a person is not kept in jail in police custody. One must have heard that the court has sent the accused to 14 days judicial custody.

Judicial Custody means the person will be kept in prison on the orders of the Magistrate. In other words, we can say that the accused is in the custody of the Magistrate. When the accused is presented before the Magistrate after that he can be sent to jail or can be sent back to police custody. In judicial custody, the suspect becomes the responsibility of the Court.

If the accused is sent to the judicial custody, the accused will be sent to jail away from the public scrutinizing eye.

What happens after 14 days judicial custody?

In general, many people have this query as to what happens after 14 days judicial custody. After 14 days of judicial custody remand, the accused is again taken to court and the judge may or may not order further remand.

Laws of Custody in India

The suspect is assumed to be innocent till the charges against him are proved and only after that, the Court will punish him for the crime reported. As per Section 167 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 the suspect can be in police custody for 15 days but on the orders of the Magistrate. However, the person can be under judicial custody for upto 90 days when the person has committed an offence with a punishment of death, imprisonment of life or period of imprisonment exceeding 10 years and for upto 60 days for all other crimes, if the Magistrate thinks fit for the interest of the justice.

A Judicial Magistrate can give the order to extend the duration of any custody upto 15 days and an executive magistrate can extend it upto 7 days.

If the police report is not been filed within 60 or 90 days (as the case may be) then the person can be released on default bail. But if the police report is filed within the required time period then the accused won’t be released on default bail and thus will continue to be detained under judicial custody because after investigation the process of inquiry has started.

The maximum period on which a suspect can be under judicial custody is half of the punishment awarded for the concerned offence. When the accused is kept under police or judicial custody, it is important to keep in mind that they have some rights too. Many decisions have been taken by different Courts stating that the accused should not be treated badly. Different provisions of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and The Constitution of India provide the rights of the arrested person.

Difference between Judicial Custody & Police Custody

Custody is often extended to people who are suspected of committing a crime. The protection is awarded in order for the suspect to be in the range or jurisdiction of the agents of the law and not in the open public.

Both judicial custody and police custody limit the liberty and range of movement of a person. The law and its agents (specifically, the police and the courts) employ a protective and preventive method by taking an individual who is suspected of a crime away from the general public. This allows law enforcement to properly investigate the accusation of a crime and have the suspect stand trial for the crimes accused to him.

In police custody, the police officer detains any offender or suspected person under his custody as an action taken by him, but in Judicial custody, the accused person is kept in jail upon the order of the concerned magistrate.

A person lodge in police custody has to appear before the concerned magistrate within 24 hours but the person detained in judicial custody is kept in jail until Court gives bail.

Police custody begins when a police officer arrests a suspect upon receiving a complaint or FIR. Whereas, the Judicial custody begins when the public prosecutor satisfies the court that for the purpose of the investigation, custody of such accused is necessary.

The maximum period of police custody is 24 hours and which may be extended to 15 days as a whole by the appropriate magistrate Whereas in Judicial custody the maximum period of detention is 90 days where the investigation is related to offenses punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term not less than ten years and 60 days where the investigation is related to offenses punishable with imprisonment for a term less than 10 years.

Police custody is under the security provided by the police whereas in judicial custody the security is provided by the judge/magistrate.

Difference between Judicial Custody & Police Custody in Isolation

Control

In police custody, the police officer at duty as complete control over taking charge, arresting a suspect or accused in their provisional area.

The police can take charge of the evidence, but the suspect or accused in the police lock-up and file a charge sheet on what all information his/her team has gathered via interrogation.

The judicial custody works on the principals of the court laws wherein the judge/magistrate takes a call on the navigation of the case.

The suspect can be set free on no accord of misconduct found, or sent back to the police custody for 15 days or moved to the central jail for up to 60 days before the accused is presented in front of the magistrate once again.

Investigation

1. An investigation is done by the police when the accused is in police custody.
2. The investigation is not the job of the magistrate. The magistrate goes by the evidence provided by the interrogation reports and the hearing in the trial court.
3. If there is a need for further investigation, the judicial court sends back the accused to police custody for close to two weeks duration.

Procedure

1. Filing of an FIR is not always a mandate and police themselves can arrest someone based on their source’s communication or whereabouts information.
2. The procedure of judicial functionaries and functioning is mostly covered.

Charges

1. The charges put on a suspect of accused in police custody can be nullified at the judicial court if not proven guilty.

Duration

1. The duration to keep an accused in the police custody is from 2 hours to 15 days.
2. While in the judicial custody the accused is kept from a minimum of 24 hours to 60 days before being presented to the judges again.
3. If found guilty; the accused is moved to the judicial jail. Judicial jail is also called a central jail.

Jail

1. The accused is kept in the police lock-up while as per the judicial custody the accused is kept away for the public is the central jails.

 

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