Failure To Inform An Accused Of Grounds For His Arrest Violates Article 22(1) Of the Indian constitution: Supreme Court

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) of India declared the arrest of an accused illegal due to the police’s failure to inform him of the grounds for his arrest. The SC bench stressed that the grounds of an individual’s arrest should be conveyed to him clearly as it is a fundamental right under Article 22(1) of the Indian Constitution. The two-judge bench constituting Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice N Kotiswar Singh was hearing an issue canvassed by the appellant that his right under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India was violated as he was not informed of the grounds for his arrest. After hearing the matter, the SC bench said that the requirement of informing the person arrested of the grounds of arrest is not a formality but a mandatory constitutional requirement. It added, “Article 22 is included in Part III of the Constitution under the heading of Fundamental Rights. Thus, it is the fundamental right of every person arrested and detained in custody to be informed of the grounds of arrest as soon as possible. If the grounds of arrest are not informed as soon as may be after the arrest, it would amount to a violation of the fundamental right of the arrestee guaranteed under Article 22(1).”

Furthermore, the SC highlighted, “When an arrested person is produced before a Judicial Magistrate for remand, it is the duty of the Magistrate to ascertain whether compliance with Article 22(1) has been made. The reason is that due to non-compliance, the arrest is rendered illegal; therefore, the arrestee cannot be remanded after the arrest is rendered illegal. It is the obligation of all the Courts to uphold the fundamental rights.” Along with this, the SC bench expressed concern over the shocking treatment, handcuffing and chaining to a hospital bed, given by the police to the appellant. It said, “Before we part with this judgment, we must refer to the shocking treatment given to the appellant by the police. He was taken to a hospital while he was handcuffed and he was chained to the hospital bed. This itself is a violation of the fundamental right of the appellant under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The right to live with dignity is a part of the rights guaranteed under Article 21. We, therefore, propose to direct the State Government to issue necessary directions to ensure that such illegalities are never committed.” The top court concluded by stating the following order:

• “The arrest of the appellant shown on 10th June 2024…stands vitiated;
• Therefore, the appellant shall be forthwith released and set at liberty;
• We clarify that the finding of this Court that the arrest of the appellant stands vitiated will not affect the merits of the chargesheet and the pending case;
• We direct the appellant to regularly and punctually attend the trial court unless his presence is exempted, and cooperate with the trial court for early disposal of the trial. We direct the appellant to furnish a bond in accordance with Section 91 of the BNSS to the satisfaction of the Trial Court within a period of two weeks from his release ;
• The State of Haryana shall issue guidelines/departmental instructions to the police (i) to ensure that the act of handcuffing an accused while he is on a hospital bed and tying him to the hospital bed is not committed again. (ii) to ensure that the constitutional safeguards under Article 22 are strictly followed. If necessary, the State Government shall amend the existing Rules/guidelines; and
• A copy of the judgment shall be forwarded to the Home Secretary of the State of Haryana.”