CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has held that furnishing the grounds of arrest to the person who is being arrested is mandatory and it is a constitutional right of that person. The court made the observation while setting aside an order of a lower court for remanding a person in a case of possession of narcotic substances without communicating to him the grounds of arrest.
“It is very clear that the communication of the grounds of arrest is mandatory. The Supreme Court has held that the mode of communication must be in writing and in a language which can be understood by the arrestee in order to satisfy the constitutional requirement under Article 22 (1),” Justice Sunder Mohan said in a recent order citing the SC verdict in Mihir Rajesh Shah case.
The judge set aside the August 23, 2025, remand order issued against the petitioner, Yasar Arafat @ Mannadi Yaser, by the district munsif cum judicial magistrate court in Madhavaram.
He was arrested by the police based on the confession of five persons who were held for possession of MMDA ecstasy pills, LSD stamp, methamphetamine at Madhavaram in Chennai on August 22, 2025, during a vehicle check held after a tip-off.
Yaser moved the HC praying for quashing of the remand order as the grounds of arrest were not furnished to him.
The judge found that no substantiating documents were produced by the prosecution.
“Since the grounds of arrest have not been communicated in writing, the constitutional right of the petitioner has been violated. As a sequitur, the arrest becomes illegal and consequently the remand also would not be justified,” the judge held.
He ordered the release of the petitioner with certain conditions, including appearing before the trial court on the first working day of every month.
The judge also granted liberty to the prosecution to seek a fresh remand by complying with the conditions of arrest.