In Mihir Rajesh Shah v. The State of Maharashtra and Another [2025 INSC 1288], the Supreme Court observed that a person arrested for any offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) must be supplied with the written grounds of arrest in a language that he or she understands, “within a reasonable time and in any case at least two hours prior to production of the arrestee for remand proceedings before the magistrate.”
The grounds of arrest must be communicated effectively, ensuring the arrested person receives sufficient knowledge of the facts constituting those grounds in a language he or she understands. Otherwise, the arrest and subsequent remand will be rendered illegal. This stipulation was previously limited to UAPA/PMLA offences.
The Supreme Court observed that communicating the grounds in a language the arrested person does not understand infringes their personal liberty, as guaranteed under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India.
The objective of this constitutional mandate is to ensure the person can comprehend the basis of the allegations levelled against them, thereby enabling them to exercise their legal rights effectively.
By requiring written, comprehensible grounds of arrest within a definite time frame, the Supreme Court has transformed the ordinary process of arrest into a matter of constitutional significance.
