Mandatory communication of grounds of arrest must be shown by contemporaneous proof, or the arrest and remand are vitiated.

Article 22(1) requires an arrested person to be informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds of arrest in a meaningful way that conveys the basic facts to the person arrested. That constitutional safeguard is mandatory and is not satisfied by merely informing a relative or recording a bare diary entry. The investigating agency bears the burden of proving effective compliance through contemporaneous material. On the facts, the record did not show that the grounds of arrest were communicated to the appellant, so the arrest and the remand orders founded on it were vitiated and Article 21 was also breached.

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Issues: Whether the arrest of the appellant was vitiated for failure to inform him of the grounds of arrest in compliance with Article 22(1) of the Constitution, and whether such non-compliance required his release.

Analysis: The constitutional mandate under Article 22(1) requires that an arrested person be informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds of arrest in a manner that conveys sufficient knowledge of the basic facts and is meaningful to the person arrested. This requirement is mandatory and is distinct from the mere communication of arrest particulars or information to a relative. Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and its corresponding provision in Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 do not dilute the constitutional safeguard. When non-compliance is alleged, the burden lies on the investigating agency to prove effective compliance through contemporaneous material. On the facts, the record did not establish that the grounds of arrest were communicated to the appellant; communication to his wife or a bare diary entry was insufficient. Such breach also infringes Article 21 and vitiates the arrest and the remand orders based on it.

Conclusion: The arrest was held illegal for violation of Article 22(1), and the appellant was directed to be forthwith released.

Ratio Decidendi: Informing an arrested person of the grounds of arrest is a mandatory constitutional safeguard under Article 22(1), and failure to effectively communicate those grounds to the arrested person, proved by the State from contemporaneous material, vitiates the arrest and any remand founded on it.

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