In October 2020, the Mumbai police initiated “chapter proceedings” against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami.
Is this a legal term?
- It is not a legal term. Since all the sections related to preventing of crime fall under a single chapter, it was colloquially called “chapter proceedings” and has since been used to refer to actions of this nature.
What are Chapter proceedings?
- Chapter proceedings are initiated as preventive actions by the police if they fear that a particular person is likely to create trouble and disrupt the peace in society.
Different from FIR?
- These proceedings are unlike punitive action taken in case of an FIR with an intention to punish.
- There is no need for even an FIR against a person for issuing a notice under section 107 of the CrPC (security of keeping peace in other cases). In this case the bond is signed for one year.
Notice under which section?
- Generally a notice is issued to a person under section 111 of the CrPC whereby a person is asked to present himself before the Executive Magistrate – an ACP-rank officer in a commissionerate of a deputy collector in rural areas – who has issued the notice.
Why a bond is to be signed?
- The person has to explain why he should not be made to sign a bond of good behaviour.
- If the Executive Magistrate is not satisfied with the answer, the person is asked to sign a bond of good behaviour and produce sureties vouching for his/her good behaviour.
Whether a person can appeal against the proceedings?
- On receiving the notice under section 111, a person can appeal the notice before the courts.
What were court observations?
- In the past, courts have come down strongly against chapter proceedings in some cases.
- In 2017, the Bombay High Court had said that “chapter proceedings cannot be initiated on the basis of an incident of trivial nature”.
- The Mumbai sessions court in 2018 had said that chapter proceedings cannot be used with the purpose of punishing a past offence.
(Source: Indian Express)
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