KOCHI: In a landmark judgment, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday held that the 24-hour period to produce an accused before the magistrate commences from the time the person was effectively detained or his liberty curtailed, not when the actual time of arrest is recorded by the police.
The court pointed out that the technique of not recording the arrest under one pretext or another is often resorted to under the guise of investigation. Police brutalities generally occur during these periods of uncontrolled authority. Unless there is a check, such unrecorded periods of custody can be the source of human rights violations, the HC said.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed that the Constitution mandates that the person arrested be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest. Other than the time necessary to reach the court of the magistrate from the place of arrest, there is a peremptory prohibition that the person arrested shall not be detained beyond the said period without the magistrate’s authority.
The court issued the order while granting bail to Biswajit Mandal of West Bengal, an accused in a drug case, who argued that he was detained beyond the 24-hour period in violation of the constitutional and statutory prescriptions and hence ought to be released on bail.
To decide the legal issue – when does the 24-hour period to produce an accused before the magistrate commences – the court appointed Nikhina Thomas and Neha Babu, second-year students of Ramaiah College, Bengaluru, as amici curiae for assistance.
Law has to apply to all equally: HC
They reported that it begins from the moment of effective curtailment of liberty, not from the formal recording of arrest. In this case, the petitioner was produced before the magistrate beyond the 24-hour period and hence there has been an unrecorded period of custody, which indicates illegal detention, said the report.
The court said the law has to apply to all equally. Even the most notorious criminal is entitled to be treated with fairness and justice.
In this case, the mahazar reveals the petitioner was taken into custody at 3pm on January 25, 2025, his arrest recorded at 2pm on January 26, but he was produced before the magistrate only at 8pm on January 26. His liberty was effectively curtailed from 3pm on January 25, from which period he was under the control of the NCB officers. Considering this, the court granted him bail.