The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), an association of retired officers from the All India and Central Services, has issued a strongly worded statement expressing solidarity with retired senior civil servant Ashish Joshi and accusing the Delhi Police of violating constitutional safeguards during his detention and interrogation in connection with an alleged social media post.
The statement, signed by 108 retired civil servants, diplomats, police officers and senior government officials, describes the September 2 detention of Joshi as a "blatant display of unconstitutional power" and raises serious questions about due process, transparency and the protection of fundamental rights.
According to the CCG, Joshi, a former Principal Controller of Communication Accounts in the Department of Telecommunications and a member of the group, was stopped by two individuals claiming to be from the Delhi Police Special Cell while he was on a morning walk on September 2. The group alleges that Joshi was compelled to accompany the officers to the Special Cell police station at New Friends Colony, New Delhi, where he was informed that he had been named as an accused in a First Information Report (FIR) related to an alleged post on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
CCG states that Joshi remained in custody and was interrogated from approximately 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. that day. During this period, he was allegedly neither provided a copy of the FIR nor was his family informed about his whereabouts. The retired officers' group said the lack of information caused "anxiety and extreme mental agony" to his family. Joshi was reportedly allowed to return home only around 7:30 p.m.
The statement further claims that repeated oral and written requests by Joshi for a copy of the FIR were ignored. According to CCG, representations submitted by him on September 3 to the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, received no response. As a result, he approached the Chief Judicial Magistrate of New Delhi district on September 6 seeking directions to the police to furnish the FIR. The group says it was only after judicial intervention that Joshi received a copy of the FIR at around 6 p.m. on September 7 from the Special Cell at Delhi Police Headquarters.
In its statement, the Constitutional Conduct Group argued that the handling of the case raises fundamental constitutional issues. The group cited Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, asserting that the provision includes the right of an accused person to be informed of the grounds of detention and to receive a copy of the FIR at the earliest stage.
CCG referred to judgments of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, including *Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India (2016)* and *Court on its Own Motion Through Mr. Ajay Chaudhary v. State (2010)*, which it says established that an accused person, or an individual who believes they are named in an FIR, is entitled to receive a copy of the FIR within 24 hours of a request. The group contends that withholding the document was contrary to established legal principles and judicial directions.
One of the central concerns raised by the retired officials is the involvement of the Delhi Police Special Cell. The statement noted that the Special Cell is usually associated with investigations involving organized crime, terrorism and national security-related matters. The use of such a unit to question a retired civil servant over an alleged social media post, the group argued, appeared disproportionate. CCG warned that such actions could potentially create a "chilling effect" on free speech and democratic discourse.
The statement also criticized what it described as the failure to notify Joshi's family, calling it a violation of basic standards of fairness, transparency and human dignity.
The Constitutional Conduct Group said many of its members, including former executive magistrates and police officers, were "appalled" by what they described as a gross violation of constitutional protections and disregard for judicial rulings. The organization emphasized that no citizen, particularly a former public servant with more than three decades of service, should be subjected to arbitrary detention or interrogation without adherence to due process.
CCG called upon the Delhi Police to ensure that families of detained or interrogated persons are promptly informed of their whereabouts and that investigations are conducted strictly in accordance with the Constitution, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, and binding judicial directions. The organization also pledged full support to Joshi's efforts to secure what it described as his constitutional rights.
Copies of the statement have been sent to the Union Home Minister, the Union Home Secretary, the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
Among the 108 signatories are several distinguished former public officials, including former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, former Foreign Secretary and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, former Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung, former Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, former Punjab Director General of Police Julio Ribeiro, former Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development Meeran Borwankar, former IAS officer Harsh Mander, social activist and former IAS officer Aruna Roy, former RBI Deputy Governor Ravi Vira Gupta and former Agriculture Secretary Siraj Hussain.
The Constitutional Conduct Group describes itself as a non-partisan collective of retired civil servants committed to upholding the Constitution of India and promoting constitutional conduct by citizens and institutions alike. Its latest intervention signals growing concern among sections of the retired bureaucracy regarding civil liberties, due process protections and the conduct of law enforcement agencies in cases involving expression on social media platforms.
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