The lawyer of the accused in the Karbi Anglong lynching case has objected to his clients being handcuffed by police while being taken to and from court.

Advocate Manas Sarania, who appeared for the accused, filed a petition in the court of district and sessions judge, Nagaon, Rita Kar, saying that handcuffing them is “illegal” as it violates a Supreme Court order.

The court posted the matter for hearing on December 1.

Altogether 47 accused are facing trial in this case.

Sarania cited a 1980 Supreme Court judgment in Prem Shankar Shukla vs Delhi administration case where the apex court ruled that the police shall not handcuff or use handcuffs in a routine manner and it must be used only when there is a danger of the prisoner becoming violent or when the person being arrested is likely to escape from custody.

He said the Supreme Court had clearly said the police cannot handcuff an accused without getting permission from a judicial magistrate and without showing valid grounds for handcuffs.

“In this particular case, not all the 47 accused are dreaded criminals and most of them did not have any criminal antecedents. More importantly, many of them surrendered before police. In such a scenario, bringing them to court in handcuffs is a clear violation of human rights and contravenes orders of the Supreme Court and similar orders passed by Gauhati High Court,” the lawyer said.

Sarania, who is also the counsel for NDFB leader Ranjan Daimary in the 2008 serial blasts case, said the police in the past used to bring Daimary and other accused to the trial court in handcuffs but they discontinued the practice after he raised an objection in 2011.

A police source, however, claimed the lynching case accused were brought to Nagaon court in handcuffs after following due process of law.

The source said the prosecution would file an objection to the petition filed by Sarania in court during hearing on December 1 since there is no blanket ban on handcuffing the accused.

All the 47 accused are currently lodged in Nagaon Central Jail since Gauhati High Court in September ordered the shifting of the trial from Karbi Anglong to the CJM court in Nagaon, following the Assam government’s contention that witnesses may not be able to depose freely in Karbi Anglong.

The high court is monitoring the progress of the case after registering a suo motu public interest litigation.