‘Paraded in underwear, ropes tied to waist’: can’t humiliate accused, says Calcutta HC

Key points

• Expressing concern over parading accused persons in public with ropes tied around their waists, the Calcutta High Court on Friday (June 5, 2026) said the State has the authority to arrest and prosecute individuals but cannot subject them to humiliation.
• “You may arrest them, you may prosecute them but you cannot humiliate them,” said a Vacation Bench led by Justice Joy Sengupta and Justice Smita Das De.
• There have been several reports of accused persons being paraded not just with ropes but also in vest and underwear in Howrah, Kolkata and other parts of the State.
• The arrests, mostly of accused against whom several allegations of extortion have been made, have taken place after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the State.
• Most of those subjected to such treatment have several allegations against them and are perceived to be close to the Trinamool Congress.