Mandatory arrest is not automatic on a cognizable offence, and bail timing remains governed by judicial discretion.

A cognizable offence disclosed in an FIR or complaint does not make arrest mandatory; the police retain discretion under the Code of Criminal Procedure, which must be exercised consistently with Article 21 and the safeguards in Joginder Kumar. In bail matters, a Magistrate should ordinarily decide a Section 437 application the same day, but blanket same-day disposal directions cannot curtail judicial discretion under Section 439, where notice to the Public Prosecutor is required and timing remains case-specific. The commentary also states that the earlier contrary Full Bench view in Dr. Vinod Narain was incorrect and stands superseded.

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Issues: (i) Whether arrest of an accused is mandatory whenever a cognizable offence is disclosed in the FIR or complaint. (ii) Whether the High Court can direct subordinate courts to decide a bail application on the same day it is filed. (iii) Whether the earlier Full Bench view in Dr. Vinod Narain correctly stated the law.

Issue (i): Whether arrest of an accused is mandatory whenever a cognizable offence is disclosed in the FIR or complaint.

Analysis: Article 21 requires that deprivation of personal liberty occur only by a procedure that is fair, reasonable and just. The relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure confer power to arrest, but do not make arrest compulsory merely because a cognizable offence is disclosed. The scheme of Sections 41 and 157 shows discretion in the police officer, which must be exercised in line with constitutional safeguards and the principles stated in Joginder Kumar.

Conclusion: Arrest is not mandatory on disclosure of a cognizable offence; the police officer must apply the principles governing lawful and justified arrest.

Issue (ii): Whether the High Court can direct subordinate courts to decide a bail application on the same day it is filed.

Analysis: The provisions governing bail treat applications under Section 437 and Section 439 differently. For Section 437 matters, the Magistrate should ordinarily decide the application the same day, and if adjournment is made in a rare case, reasons must be recorded. For Section 439 matters, notice to the Public Prosecutor is required, but the period for hearing is left to judicial discretion. A blanket direction from the High Court would trench upon that discretion, though the Sessions Judge may in an appropriate case hear and decide the matter the same day, and may also grant interim bail where warranted.

Conclusion: The High Court should not ordinarily direct same-day disposal by subordinate courts; the matter is to be regulated by the discretion of the court hearing the bail application, subject to the guidance stated for Sections 437 and 439.

Issue (iii): Whether the earlier Full Bench view in Dr. Vinod Narain correctly stated the law.

Analysis: The earlier view that arrest becomes a must on disclosure of a cognizable offence was inconsistent with the constitutional mandate under Article 21 and with the controlling principles in Joginder Kumar. The present Full Bench also differed on the extent of same-day disposal directions in bail matters and clarified the proper operation of the Code of Criminal Procedure in conformity with constitutional liberty and speedy trial requirements.

Conclusion: The earlier Full Bench view was incorrect and stands substituted by the present decision.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by rejecting any rule of mandatory arrest on mere disclosure of a cognizable offence, by preserving judicial discretion in bail matters, and by overruling the earlier contrary Full Bench view.

Ratio Decidendi: A cognizable offence authorises arrest but does not require it as an invariable rule, and bail proceedings must be administered in a manner consistent with Article 21 and the judicial discretion conferred by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

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