Arrest & Related Matters

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.

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.

The police officer has wide powers for making arrest without warrant when a reasonable complaint or credible information reaches him, but it should be exercised cautiously. The police officer must have sufficient materials for exercising independent judgement at the time of making arrest. Police Officer has enough discretion in making arrest without warrant. That must be exercised not at his sweet will, but when there is reasonably founded suspicion as to commission of a cognizable offence.

One of the modes of execution of a decree for payment of money, exceeding Rupees two thousand, is arrest and detention of the judgment debtor (JD) in a civil prison. The purpose of this write up is to discusses the mode and procedure for putting a judgment debtor (JD) in civil prison, as part of execution of a decree, when he is unable to satisfy the decree against him.