Till September 2019, as per records available with Delhi Police, there were 26,532 proclaimed offenders in Delhi, of whom 3,826 had been arrested, prosecution was launched against a further 1,601 and properties of another 28 were attached. The Delhi High Court has said it is necessary to ensure that legal processes regarding proclaimed offenders and attachment of their properties are not issued in a routine manner. It directed the commissioner of Delhi Police and the director of the CBI to form an internal committee to formulate suggestions in this regard. “The Committee shall inter alia consist of officers heading the Policy Division as also those having experience of investigating inter-country offences and also the concerned Standing Counsels appearing for the respective agencies before this court,” read an order pronounced by Justice JR Midha, adding that the report of the committee should be filed within a period of four weeks. Till September 2019, as per records available with Delhi Police, there were 26,532 proclaimed offenders in Delhi, of whom 3,826 had been arrested, prosecution was launched against a further 1,601 and properties of another 28 were attached. CBI records revealed that 793 of the accused were declared proclaimed offenders between January 1, 2015 and October 31, 2019, of which only 68 were arrested, properties of 21 were attached and prosecution was launched against the remaining two persons. Justice Midha said that the court is of the view that declaring a person as a proclaimed offender could be deemed a serious offence under Section 174A, which is punishable for a period up to 3 or 7 years. “It affects the life and liberty of a person under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and it is necessary to ensure that the process under Sections 82 and 83 CrPC is not issued in a routine manner and due process of law should be followed,” the order stated. It also said that once a person has been declared as a proclaimed offender, it is the duty of the state to make all reasonable efforts to arrest him, attach his properties and launch prosecution under Section 174A IPC. “This court is of the view that guidelines are necessary to be laid down in this regard,” the order reads.