Bail to Arvind Kejriwal: Accused has the right to remain silent during interrogation, says Justice Bhuyan

File photo of Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Supreme Court judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, in his separate opinion allowing bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday (September 13, 2024), upheld the right of an accused to remain silent during interrogation.

Justice Bhuyan, in his separate opinion on the two-judge Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, observed that an investigating agency cannot presume guilt or make an adverse inference against an accused who chose to remain mum.

“An accused has the right to remain silent; he cannot be compelled to make inculpatory statements against himself. No adverse inference can be drawn from the silence of the accused,” Justice Bhuyan stressed.

Constitutional right

Justice Bhuyan invoked Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which mandated that an accused person must not be compelled to be a witness against himself.

The judge observed that the protection against self-incrimination was not restricted to testimonies in court but also during the pre-trial stage, including at the time of questioning or interrogation by the police or a law enforcement agency.

“Thus, the protection is available to a person against whom a formal accusation has been made, though the actual trial may not have commenced, and if such an accusation relates to the commission of an offence, which in the normal course may result in prosecution. An accused has the right to remain silent; he cannot be compelled to make inculpatory statements against himself,” Justice Bhuyan wrote.