Jaipur, June 18 (IANS) The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Rohit Joshi, son of former Minister Mahesh Joshi, challenging the legality of his father’s arrest in the multi-crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam. While rejecting the plea, the Court made strong observations against both the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Special Judge, noting serious procedural lapses and expressing concern that certain facts appeared to have been manipulated.
A Division Bench of Justice Umashankar Vyas and Justice Ashok Kumar Jain, in its detailed order uploaded on Wednesday, observed that the constitutional requirement of communicating the grounds of arrest was not properly followed.
The Bench, however, held that as Mahesh Joshi was in judicial custody pursuant to court orders, the legality of his arrest could not be examined through a habeas corpus petition, in line with Supreme Court precedents. The petition was accordingly dismissed, while leaving open the option of challenging the Special Judge’s order through appropriate legal remedies.
The Court underscored that informing an accused of the grounds of arrest in writing is a constitutional mandate. It found that the ACB failed to place any document on record showing that Mahesh Joshi had been informed of the actual grounds of his arrest.
According to the Bench, the agency merely referred to the legal provisions under which the case was registered, whereas “grounds of arrest” and “reasons for arrest” are distinct legal concepts.
The Court remarked that the ACB appeared to have failed to appreciate this fundamental distinction. The High Court pointed to contradictions in the ACB’s responses. While the agency initially claimed that Mahesh Joshi had been informed of the grounds of arrest, it later stated that the information had been conveyed to his family members.
The Bench observed that additional facts were introduced in a subsequent reply and noted that these appeared, prima facie, to have been manipulated.
The Court also found fault with the Special Judge handling ACB matters. It noted that Mahesh Joshi had raised objections regarding the legality of his arrest on May 7 itself during remand proceedings.
Under such circumstances, the Special Judge was expected to examine the issue immediately. Instead, the application remained pending and was decided only after about 31 days, which the Bench described as a serious lapse.
Emphasising the need for better compliance with constitutional safeguards, the Bench said police personnel and judicial officers require training on Supreme Court directives governing arrests and the rights of accused persons under Article 22(1) of the Constitution.
The Court directed that a copy of its order be placed before the Chief Justice through the Registrar General and also sent to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to ensure compliance with the prescribed guidelines. In the petition, Rohit Joshi alleged that mandatory legal safeguards were ignored when his father was arrested on May 7 and produced before a court with a request for five days’ police remand.
The plea contended that neither a written communication detailing the grounds of arrest nor any acknowledgement of such communication was provided to family members or legal counsel before the remand application was moved, despite Supreme Court directions making such procedures mandatory.
Arguing that the arrest was unconstitutional and illegal in the absence of written notice, the petitioner had sought Mahesh Joshi’s immediate release. However, the High Court declined relief under the habeas corpus jurisdiction while recording its concerns over procedural lapses in the arrest process.
–IANS
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