The CrPC requires producing a citizen before a court within 24 hours of an arrest. But this provision is mostly followed in its breach. There is also a court directive against abuse of Section 54 asserting that in case of arrest thereunder the relatives of the detainee will have to be informed of the whereabouts. This too is seldom, if ever, adhered to.

The case in point is interesting. The Bangla daily report said, Kishore Kumar, 32, was arrested by Rab and taken away from his house on July 19 and since then his whereabouts were not known to his nearest relations. When his relative went to Rab office on July 20 and 21 Rab personnel reportedly denied arresting anyone named Kishore. The Attorney General told the court that Kishore was arrested on July 23, the FIR was lodged the same day, and he was sent to the court the following day. On hearing the submissions of both sides, the HC directed that CrPC provisions in case of arrest must be followed by the law enforcers.

This is an important ruling that upholds both public interest and human rights principles. Safety of people in the law enforcers' custody is the latter's obligation. It is also a dictate of the rule of law that nobody suddenly disappears or his or her whereabouts remain unknown for any length of time.