The statutory period of twenty-four hours to produce an accused before a Magistrate commences from the time the accused was effectively detained or his liberty was curtailed without the sanction of law, observed Kerala High Court in Arun K. Thomas v. Narcotic Control Bureau [2026: KER:66054].
Pre-arrest detention for enquiry with limited restraint of liberty is permissible where explicitly authorised by the following statutes
- Sections 179(1) and 35(3) of BNSS
- Sections 67, 42, 43 and 50 of the NDPS Act
- Rule 3 of the NDPS Disposal Rules,
- Section 50 of the PMLA, or Sections 107 and
- 108 of the Customs Act
In such cases, the twenty-four hours begins only upon formal arrest whereas in all other circumstances, any deprivation of liberty prior to arrest must be treated as part of the detention period. This preserves the equilibrium between the necessity of effective investigation and the prohibition against arbitrary restraint of liberty.
Whether a person has been subjected to illegal detention prior to the formal recording of arrest is a matter to be carefully assessed in the light of the facts in each case.
