Right to sleep a basic human requirement: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that the right to sleep is a basic human requirement and cannot be violated for recording statements. The Court ruled that statements may be taken during early hours, but not at night when cognitive function may be impaired.

The case

The Court was hearing a petition filed by 64-year-old Ram Kotumal Issrani following his arrest by ED in a money laundering case. His lawyer, advocate Vijay Aggarwal said that ED recorded Issrani’s statement throughout the night, from 10:30 pm to 3 am, which violated his ‘right to sleep’, which forms part of his right to life, enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution

Court’s reaction

The bench headed by Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Manjusha Deshpande said , “Voluntary or otherwise, we deprecate the manner in which the petitioner’s statement was recorded so late in the night, which went on post midnight till 3.30 am.”

Denying right to sleep violates human rights

The court added, “The ‘right to sleep’ / ‘right to blink’ is a basic human requirement, and non-providing of the same, violates a person’s human rights,”.

Condemned EDs way of questioning

The bench dismissed the plea and declared the arrest as illegal on these grounds but criticized ED’s way of questioning and said that the right to sleep is a basic human right that cannot be violated. The court highlighted that when an individual is summoned for questioning, it is important to note that the investigating agency has not yet established a “reason to believe” that the person in question is guilty of any offense.

The bench noted that Issrani had also previously appeared before the agency to give statements. The court suggested that the petitioner could have been summoned the next day rather than questioning and interrogating him post mid-night despite his alleged consent.

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