New Delhi: The Delhi high court has stated that the grounds for arrest under Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) must be provided to the accused at the same time as the arrest memo.
According to Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, investigating officers can no longer treat the matter of serving the grounds of arrest lightly. The court has also interpreted the word “forthwith” in Section 50 of the CrPC to mean that the grounds of arrest should be served simultaneously with the issuance of the arrest memo, Bar and Bench reported.
According to Section 50 of the CrPC, any police officer or person making a warrantless arrest should “forthwith communicate” to the arrestee the full particulars of the offence or the grounds for the arrest.
“Once the grounds for requiring a person’s arrest have been formulated in the investigating officer’s mind, there can possibly be no reason why those grounds cannot be reduced into writing and communicated to the person simultaneously at the time of arrest,” the court was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.
This ruling is significant because it ensures that individuals are not deprived of their liberty without being informed of the reasons for their arrest. The court has also suggested that a column must be incorporated into the arrest memo to require the investigating officer to provide the grounds of arrest.
The court made this ruling while ordering the release of a manager who was accused of being involved in the sexual abuse and exploitation of victims. The court’s decision emphasises the importance of protecting individual rights and ensuring that the arrest process is fair and transparent.