Supreme Court: Police Officers Who Fail To Give Written Grounds Of Arrest Must Face Departmental Inquiry
The Supreme Court on September 21 held that disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against a police officer who arrests a person without furnishing the grounds of arrest in writing, stressing that compliance with Article 22(1) of the Constitution is mandatory. A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar held that an arrest becomes illegal if the grounds are not furnished in…
The Supreme Court ruled on September 21 that police officers who fail to provide written grounds for arrests must undergo departmental inquiries. The court emphasized the importance of complying with Article 22(1) of the Constitution, which mandates that arrest warrants be written in a language understood by the accused. If an officer arrests someone without providing such grounds, the arrest becomes unlawful and the investigating agency must seek permission from a Magistrate before re-arresting the person.
The court also directed that further investigation be handed over to another officer and a departmental inquiry initiated against the officer responsible for the arrest violation. Violations of this law could result in adverse findings leading to departmental action and an entry in the officer's service record. The Supreme Court stressed that the safeguards under Article 22 are not mere procedural formalities but fundamental principles that must be followed when a person's liberty is at stake.
Failure to comply with these provisions renders the arrest unconstitutional and immediately invalidates it. Despite this, the court clarified that re-arrest and re-investigation are only permissible if the officer provides valid grounds for arrest and undergoes a departmental inquiry, with the Magistrate deciding the case within a week.
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