HC rules against delayed disclosure of arrest grounds

THE Delhi High Court has ruled that providing an arrestee with the grounds of arrest as part of a remand application filed before the Magistrate does not satisfy legal requirements.

- SHEKHAR SINGH @ New Delhi

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani emphasised that since the grounds for arrest must exist before the act of arrest, there must be a contemporaneous record in the police diary or another official document.

He further stated that investigating officers have no valid reason to withhold this information from an arrestee in writing at the time of arrest.

The Court said that this communication must occur simultaneously with the issuance of the arrest memo or be included as part of it. "Serving grounds of arrest via a remand application does not meet legal standards, as such an application is only filed later when the arrestee is presented before the Magistrate," it said.