Nowadays, a straightforward arrest of accused involved in white collar offences is next to impossible, say police personnel.

They cannot arrest any accused straightaway in criminal cases in which the punishment of imprisonment is up to seven years, following orders of the Delhi High Court last year and the Madras High Court in January. In such cases, the investigation officer should issue a notice to the accused

Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran has issued a circular to all Commissioners of Police in cities and Superintendents of Police in districts in this regard.

A senior officer said, “Such an order is more favourable to the accused. For instance, the accused might have committed a ₹100 crore-fraud. But we have to issue a notice first asking the suspect to appear for an interrogation. In most cases, the accused does not comply with the notice. Instead, he/she normally will dodge the scrutiny, citing ill-health or that they are out of the country. In the meantime, they would approach higher courts and secure anticipatory bail.”

Time for appearance

As per the new system, the police personnel also shall give reasonable time to the accused for appearance. If the accused is unable to appear before the officer for some reason, they can send a note seeking a convenient time.

“The present system of interrogation is widely misused causing agony to the victims who lost their hard-earned money,” said another officer in the Central Crime Branch.

The investigation officer can arrest the accused only after obtaining orders from the jurisdictional magistrate court. A section of advocates also felt the order is being misused by accused in several white collar crimes.