Why was Suresh Raina Arrested?
The cricketer, along with several other celebrities, was booked by the Mumbai police for breaching Covid-19 regulations. What happened?
It isn’t everyday that an Indian cricketer gets arrested. When such a thing does happen, it draws the attention of the entire country.
For Suresh Raina, 2020 hasn’t been a great year. After announcing retirement and missing out on the Indian Premier League a few months ago, the left-handed batsman was arrested recently at a club in Mumbai. What did he do? Violated a bunch of Covid-19 norms which, by extension, involved certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’).
Today’s story explains what the law says about this.
Party (Nahin) Chalegi Till Six in The Morning!
I wish I could take credit for that headline but the truth is that this is what the Mumbai police tweeted after the arrest.
The police conducted a raid at a nightclub in Andheri at around 3 A.M. It found that the attendees were failing to comply with Covid-19 prevention regulations like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. The nightclub was also open beyond the 11:30 P.M. limit set by Mumbai’s local authorities.
These acts also constituted offences under the IPC. Section 188 punishes people who disobey orders issued by public servants. Further, section 269 of the IPC penalises actions that are likely to spread infection of a disease that is dangerous to life. Both of these offences are punishable with imprisonment, fine, or both.
There’s little doubt that Raina contravened these laws. However, he was immediately released since these are bailable offences.
Ignorance of the Law
Raina’s management team issued a statement clarifying that the cricketer was unaware of the local timings and protocol. He was merely having dinner at the nightclub while waiting for his flight to Delhi.
Surely no one should be punished when they don’t know about the law, right?
Turns out, lack of knowledge about the law can’t be used a defence against prosecution. There’s even a Latin maxim for this which goes ‘ignorantia juris non excusat,’ meaning that ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
The Supreme Court has ruled on this in a case involving a foreigner who smuggled gold into India without realizing that he was contravening foreign exchange regulations. The court held that ignorance of the law was “wholly irrelevant.” Action could still be taken against this foreigner under the applicable statute.
It’s the same thing with Raina. Ignorance of the law could not have gotten him out of trouble. He was only released from custody on bail.
News Law Galore
Maharashtra recently announced a night curfew from 11 P.M. to 6 A.M. till 5 January. Other states like Karnataka have also prescribed mandatory quarantine for flyers coming from various countries. Given how unpredictable the Covid-19 situation is, the laws are in constant flux.
Imagine if everyone claimed that they didn’t know the law and, hence, should not be punished. It just wouldn’t work.
However, you now know that this isn’t a legitimate justification. Do make it a point to check up on local regulations before travelling during the festive season.
Don’t be like Suresh.
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