Point of Law: Object of Section 151 of the Code is one of preventive justice and before invoking the said provision, it must be evident that there is imminent danger.

ORDER :

Power of preventive action is vested upon the police under Chapter XI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short ‘the Code’). Since the power is capable of being misused, strict interpretation is essential for exercising such extraordinary powers. Section 151 of the Code confers power to arrest without a warrant on knowledge of a design to commit a cognizable offence.

2. Petitioner is a practicing Advocate. He was arrested in purported exercise of the power under Section 151 of the Code. FIR No.1332/2021 of Chavara Police Station was registered against him. The registration of the crime is questioned in this petition under Section 482 of the Code.

3. The crime was registered alleging the petitioner to be a threat to the peaceful living of the public and that letting him on liberty would lead to breach of peace. The FIR alleges that to prevent commission of such incidents petitioner was being arrested on 25.12.2021, at 1.00 pm and detained.

4. Petitioner contends that though an FIR of the nature referred above has been registered, he was not arrested at all and on the other hand he was merely called to the Police Station to give his personal details and he was permitted to leave immediately. It is contended that, petitioner was not even informed that his arrest was recorded, or that he is being implicated in a crime. According to him, the action is politically motivated and there was no instance of any apprehension of law and order issue in the area and also that he is not involved in any criminal case even. Petitioner also alleges that the crime has been registered against him with oblique motives, especially when he enquired about a Police Clearance Certificate. Petitioner also contends that, despite the lapse of one year, since the registration of the alleged crime, no investigation worth its name has been conducted and the FIR is standing as an impediment for his police clearances. It is further alleged that, as a practicing Advocate, the proceeding pending against the petitioner is an abuse of the judicial process and that the FIR is required to be quashed.

5. The learned Public Prosecutor, upon instructions submitted that, petitioner was earlier arrayed as an accused in Crime No.615/2014 of Ochira Police Station, which was subsequently quashed. The prosecutor submitted that after recording the arrest of the petitioner in the present crime, he was immediately released from the Police Station itself.

6. I have heard Sri. Appu Ajith, the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Smt. Seetha. S, the learned Public Prosecutor.

7. A perusal of Annexure A1 FIR reveals that the crime has been registered under Section 151 of the Code, alleging that petitioner is a threat to the peaceful living of the public and that, if he is set at liberty, there will be a breach of peace and hence he is arrested under Section 151 of the Code.

8. Section 151 of the Code deals with the power of arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences. It reads as below:

“151. Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences.-(1) A police officer knowing of a design to commit any cognizable offence may arrest, without orders from a Magistrate and without a warrant, the person so designing, if it appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented.

(2) No person arrested under sub-section (1) shall be detained in custody for a period exceeding twenty-four hours from the time of his arrest unless his further detention is required or authorised under any other provisions of this Code or of any other law for the time being in force.”

9. A glance at Section 151 of the Code reveals that the object of the provision is to prevent a person from committing a cognizable offence, which he has designed to commit or intends to commit. Knowledge of a design to commit the offence is the essence of the offence. Apart form the knowledge of the design to commit an offence, the Police Officer must also be of the bel