Bombay High Court: “Right To Sleep Is Basic Requirement” Regarding Post Midnight Questioning

In a recent ruling, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Manjusha Deshpande emphasized the importance of recording statements during “earthly hours,” instead of at night. The court issued this order in response to a plea filed by 64-year-old Ram Issrani, who contested his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. Issrani claimed that his arrest was unjustified as he had been cooperative with the probe and had appeared before the agency when summoned.

According to Issrani’s plea, he had appeared before the agency as per the summons issued on August 7, 2023, and was questioned throughout the night, ultimately leading to his arrest the next day. Despite dismissing the petition, the bench expressed disapproval of the practice of questioning the petitioner during late hours. The probe agency’s counsel argued that Issrani had consented to his statement being recorded during the night, to which the court stated its disapproval, asserting that the right to sleep is a fundamental human requirement.

The court emphasized that lack of sleep can adversely impact a person’s health and cognitive abilities, and individuals should not be deprived of this basic human right by the agency beyond a reasonable time. The court noted that when a person is summoned for questioning, the investigating agency has not yet established a “reason to believe” that the individual is guilty of an offense. It pointed out that the petitioner had cooperated with the agency in the past and could have been summoned on a different day, rather than being kept waiting after midnight, regardless of alleged consent.

Concluding its ruling, the court directed the ED to issue circulars or guidelines specifying the appropriate timings for recording statements when summons are issued. The bench scheduled compliance with this directive for September 9.