Ramanathapuram: The accused in criminal cases, who failed to appear in courts in response to warrants or after securing bail could no longer walk free after getting the warrants recalled or filing condone petitions without facing the wrath of police as they have decided to invoke Section 229A (failure by person released on bail or bond to appear in court) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against them.
After the Superintendents of Police of southern districts were sensitised to the IPC provision in a training programme on criminal investigation addressed by Madras High Court Judges in Madurai recently, Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan directed the police to book an accused, who had been ‘ignoring’ court warrants, under the section.
Section 229A empowered the police to arrest and remand the accused, who were on bail or facing warrants and failed to appear in court when summoned, in judicial custody, the SP said, and directed the investigating officers to register fresh FIRs against such accused under the section.
On the SP’s direction, Paramakudi police registered an FIR under Section 229A on Thursday against U. Gnanavel Pandian, a murder accused who had been failing to respond to court summons and evading trial.
The accused, hailing from Villapuram in Madurai, was one of the eight accused arraigned in a case for murdering Subramaniam, Sub-Inspector of Police attached to Abiramam police station, and carrying out a murderous attack on a head constable attached to Mandalamanickam police station near Abiramam on April 28, 2006.
In the training programme, organised by Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy, Justice S. Nagamuthu enlightened the police officers on ‘Procedural lapses in investigation of criminal cases’, and Justice P.N. Prakash on ‘Effective prosecution of criminal cases’, the SP said.
