Ritesha Das, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
Throughout the history, the evolution of the power of arresting a defendant in a civil action paints a vivid portrayal of successive generations' shifting attitudes about a specific judicial remedy. Under the civil justice System, the laws pertaining to the arrest and detention of the Judgment Debtor defend and preserve the Decree Holder's interests.1 If the Judgment Debtor has the capacity to pay but ignores or omits to execute his liabilities, he can be transferred to civil prison.2 Prior imposing detention, “the court must be satisfied that there was an ingredient of bad faith,” not just a non-payment but a mindset of denial on demand to disown of the decree's obligations.3 In light of recent arrests and detentions, there has been a significant increase in the number of false criminal complaints filed to resolve civil matters.4 In light of arrest and detention, the recent times has noted a substantial increase in the incidence of false criminal complaints brought to resolve civil issues. Due to prolonged delays in adjudication of civil issues, civil lawsuits are often been converted into criminal proceedings which ultimately harass the judgement-debtor.
The objective of this article is to provide light on the various dimensions of arrest within the civil justice system. It also attempts to elucidate the unnecessary criminalization of civil wrongs and the remedy against false accusations by analysing the concepts of arrest and detention in light of civil wrongs.
Keywords: Arrest and detention, Civil prisons, Civil justice system and Criminalisation of civil matters
