The primary purpose of a transit remand is to enable the police to shift the person in custody from the place of arrest to the place where the matter can be investigated. In the Sidhu Moose Wala case, the cops wanted to transfer Lawrence Bishnoi from Tihar jail to the state for further questioning
Punjab Police brought gangster Lawrence Bishnoi under heavy security from Delhi. He was produced in court in Mansa, which remanded him to seven-day police custody. PTI
The investigation into the murder of singer-turned-politician Sidhu Moose Wala reached an important stage on Tuesday when a Delhi court granted the transit remand of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi to the Punjab Police.
The Punjab Police insisted that the gangster’s interrogation was necessary and submitted that during the investigation of the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case, the confession statements of the arrested accused clearly pointed out that Lawrence Bishnoi had tasked the co-accused to carry out the “planned killing of Sidhu Moose Wala”.
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“The same has been corroborated by the upload on social media wherein Lawrence Bishnoi has taken responsibility for carrying out the planned murder of Sidhu Moose Wala. Delhi Police had questioned the said accused Lawrence Bishnoi, and they have clearly stated that Lawrence Bishnoi was the key conspirator in the planned murder of Sidhu Moosewala via press conferences,” Punjab Police said.
The Patiala House court in Delhi on hearing the matter, granted the remand on certain terms, including that Bishnoi’s medical test would be done before taking him away, all safety measures would be kept in mind, he would be handcuffed and shackled, and he would be taken in a bullet-proof vehicle.
Following the order, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) immediately took Bishnoi into custody and reached Mansa in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. Bishnoi was produced in court around 4 am on Wednesday that has now remanded him to seven-day police custody.
Even as the case progresses, here’s a better understanding of what the term transit remands means and what procedures are laid down for this practice.
Transit remand explained
As per Article 22 (2) of the Constitution, an arrested or detained person is required to be presented before a magistrate within 24 hours.
Transit remand, put simply, is said to be the remand of the accused, sought by the police, for taking the accused from one place to another in their own custody, usually for the purpose of producing him before the concerned magistrate who has jurisdiction to try/commit the case (Jurisdictional Magistrate).
Therefore, the primary purpose of such a remand is to enable the police to shift the person in custody from the place of arrest to the place where the matter can be investigated and tried.
Another instance when a transit remand is sought is when the accused person is in jail (either during the investigation, during the trial or after conviction), and he is also an accused in a case which has to be investigated and tried in a different district.
In such a case, a request maybe made by the police authorities to the concerned court which may grant such permission, if it deems fit, to transfer the accused person and produce him before the court where he has to be tried for the other case. In such a case the accused would be formally arrested by the police and such an order would be in terms of section 167(2) CrPC.
In the matter of Lawrence Bishnoi, the gangster is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail facing a trial for an offence committed under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Guidelines for transit remand
There are various rules and guidelines that the authorities have to follow while applying for a transit remand and while carrying out the practice.
The law clearly states that a copy of the case diary must be forwarded to the magistrate and the police officer applying for remand must not be an officer below the rank of Sub Inspector. Moreover, the magistrate granting a police custody remand shall record his reasons for so doing.
Also, the law says that a transit remand can only be sought from and granted by a judicial magistrate. However, an exception to this is that in the event a judicial magistrate isn’t available, an executive magistrate can grant the order for a period not exceeding seven days, after the expiry of which the accused must either be produced before the competent magistrate or be released on bail.
The court also lays down guidelines for the transit remand of an accused/arrested.
In the Lawrence Bishnoi matter, the court had ordered that the police take all appropriate measures, including all routes being videographed. In fact, Advocate General of Punjab Anmol Rattan Sidhu submitted that about 50 police personnel of Punjab Police, two bullet proof vehicles, 12 vehicles will run on the way to bring Bishnoi to Mansa.
With inputs from agencies
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