NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, in a significant judgment, ruled that investigating agencies must inform an arrested person of the reasons for arrest at the time of arrest in writing and in a language the person understands.
A two-judge bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul Chandurkar said, "An arrested person must be provided ground of arrest by the probe agency at the time of arrest and it must be in written from and in language understandable to the arrested person."
Referring to Article 22(1) of the Constitution, the court said no person can be detained without being informed of the reasons for arrest, and this safeguard is sacrosanct regardless of the nature or gravity of the offence. It said the requirement also applies to arrests under special laws, including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The court also laid down guidelines for re-arresting a person released due to a violation of Article 22(1). It said the police must first file an application before the concerned Judicial Magistrate and obtain the Magistrate's sanction.
The bench made it clear that written grounds of arrest must be provided before filing the application for re-arrest. The application must also carry the endorsement of the immediate superior of the police officer who made the initial arrest.
Justice Bhuyan said the application must explain why the grounds of arrest were not furnished at the time of the initial arrest.
The court also directed departmental disciplinary action against the police officer responsible for the initial arrest in violation of Article 22(1).
"Once there is a breach of Article 22(1), the power of re-arrest should not be left to the discretion of the very same authority who violated the provision of the Constitution. It must be judicially implemented," the court observed.
The bench further held that failure to comply with Article 22(1) does not require the accused to prove prejudice, as the right is a fundamental constitutional safeguard.