Arrest & Related Matters

In the landmark case of Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar [AIR 2014 SC 2756], the Supreme Court established strict protocols to prevent unnecessary arrests. The Court emphasized that police officers must not arrest accused persons routinely, and Magistrates must not authorize detention in a casual or mechanical manner.

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. Otherwise, the arrest and subsequent remand will be rendered illegal. This stipulation was previously limited to UAPA/PMLA offences.

When a Session Court while dealing with a bail application finds that the fundamental rights of the accused under Article 21 and 22 of the Constitution have been violated, the court can release him on bail as the arrest in the case is vitiated, observed the Supreme Court in Muhammed Nashif U v. State of Kerala & Anr [2025: KER:89635].

In the judgement in Md Asfak Alam v. State of Jharkhand & Anr, the Supreme Court reiterated its Guidelines on Arrest issued in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar and Another case and the details are as follows:

Arrest of any person within the court premises need to be done only with prior intimation to the Presiding Office, except in emergent situation, Observed Kerala High Court in Suo Motu v. State of Kerala [W.P.(C).NO.32952 of 2024 dated 19/8/2025].

Every Magistrate and Sessions judge to inform its jurisdictional Principal District judge about any form of non-compliance by the police in following the arrest guidelines laid down in the Satender Kumar Antil v Central Burea of Investigation & Another within one week of recording such non-compliance.