Arrest & Related Matters

The requirement of informing a person of the grounds for arrest is a mandatory requirement of Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 47 of BNSS, and absence of the same would render the arrest illegal a series of Supreme Court judgments such as Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India and Others [(2024) 7 SCC 576], Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi) [(2024) 8 SCC 254], Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana and Others (2025 SCC OnLine SC 269] and Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra and Another (2025 SCC OnLine SC 2356).

In D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal [AIR 1997 SC 610], the Supreme Court issued a landmark judgement regarding arrest, custody and related matters regarding arrest of a suspected person by police, as an interim measure till legal provisions were made.

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].