Supreme Court Rules Police Must Give Written Arrest Grounds; Non-Compliance Triggers Departmental Action

The Supreme Court on September 21 mandated that police officers who arrest persons without furnishing written grounds of arrest must face departmental inquiry. A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar held that compliance with Article 22(1) of the Constitution is mandatory, and arrest becomes illegal without written grounds.

The court directed that if an investigating agency seeks to re-arrest a person, it must first provide written grounds and obtain Magistrate permission. Further investigation must be handed over to another officer, and departmental inquiry initiated against the responsible officer. Adverse findings should result in departmental action and an entry in the officer's service book. Copies of the judgment were directed to be sent to Directors General of Police of all states and Union Territories.

The ruling came while declaring illegal the arrest of SAD-affiliated Jaskaranjit Singh, who was arrested without furnishing arrest grounds in a minor sexual assault case. Singh had approached the Supreme Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed a local court order declaring his arrest illegal.