Failure to Disclose Arrest Reasons Violates Constitution, Rules Allahabad High Court

HYDERABAD: In a significant judgment, the Allahabad High Court recently ruled that under Article 22(1) of the Constitution, it is mandatory to inform an arrested individual of the reasons for their arrest. The court stated that even if there are legal objections to granting bail, a constitutional violation itself can be a primary ground for bail.

The bench, comprising Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar, set aside an order passed by a magistrate in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, in December. The ruling came in response to a petition filed by Manjeet Singh, who argued that he had not been informed of the reasons for his arrest.

An FIR was registered against Manjeet Singh on 15 February 2024, and he was arrested on 26 December. He was produced before the magistrate and sent to judicial remand through a printed remand order.

Manjeet Singh filed a petition in the High Court stating that he had been remanded without being informed of the grounds for his arrest. The court took a serious view of this lapse, ruling that informing an accused of the reasons for arrest is a mandatory requirement under Article 22(1).

The High Court emphasised that it is the responsibility of the magistrate to ensure that all constitutional protections available to an accused are upheld before remanding them to custody. If a violation of Article 22(1) is found, the court must order immediate release, the bench said.

Even when legal hurdles to granting bail exist, a violation of Article 22(1) must be treated as a principal basis for considering bail, the court observed. It added that police have a binding obligation to provide written reasons for an arrest in a manner the accused can understand.

In this case, the court found that police had not disclosed the grounds for arrest under Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and only handed over an arrest memo that lacked reasons.

The High Court reiterated that it is the magistrate’s duty to verify compliance with Article 22(1) when an accused is presented for judicial custody. If a violation is confirmed, the magistrate must immediately order release.

Highlighting that this constitutional breach outweighed other bail considerations, the court set aside the magistrate’s 26 December 2024 order and quashed Manjeet Singh’s arrest in its judgment delivered on 9 April.