TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 1303
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....ification, FIR was lodged. In fact, when the demand was made by the applicant, it was recorded by the informant. Finally, a trap was made. On the date of trap, according to the prosecution, the applicant demanded money by gesture, which was given to him. His hand wash turned pink and the money was recovered from him. 3. This is second bail application of the applicant. The first bail application has already been rejected on merit on 13.08.2024. 4. Second bail application has been filed on the ground that at the time of arrest, the grounds of arrest, in writing, were never communicated to the applicant, which is violation of Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India. 5. The CBI has filed its response. According to the CBI, the applicant was informed about the grounds of arrest. 6. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 7. Learned Senior Counsel for the applicant submits that the ground grounds of arrest are required to be given in writing. It is the mandate under Article 22 of the Constitution of India. It is argued that if certain documents have been given containing the grounds of arrest, it is not compliance of the constitutional provisions.....
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....n the case of Kasireddy Upender Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh, 2025 SCC OnLIne SC 1228 and in the case of State of Karnataka v. Sri Darshan, etc., 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1702, the position of law did not remain consistent because, on the one hand, earlier in the cases of Pankaj Bansal (supra) and Prabir Purkayastha (supra), it was mandated that grounds of arrest should be given in writing whereas, on the other hand, it was diluted in the case of Vihaan Kumar (supra), when the mode and method of communication was left open with the caveat that such mode and method of communication must be such that the object of the constitutional safeguard is achieved. 11. Learned counsel for the CBI further argued that in order to make a legal position consistent, in the case of Mihir Rajesh Shah (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the grounds of arrest must be communicated in writing to the arrestee in the language, which he or she understands. 12. Learned counsel for the CBI had further adverted to the fact as to what constitutes the grounds of arrest. He would submit that the ground of arrest is basically akin to the charge that is framed against the accused so as to understand as....
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........................................ .............................................................................................. (5) When any person is detained in pursuance of an order made under any law providing for preventive detention, the authority making the order shall, as soon as may be, communicate to such person the grounds on which the order has been made and shall afford him the earliest opportunity of making a representation against the order." 19. In the case of Harikisan v. State of Maharashtra and others, AIR 1962 SC 911, it was held that "detained person has the right to be communicated the grounds on which the order of detention has been made against him, in order that he may be able to make his representation against the order of detention". 20. In the case of Icchu Devi Choraria (supra) also, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the grounds of detention are to be communicated to the detenu. 21. Similarly, in the case of Lallubhai Jogibhai Patel (supra), it was held that "One of the basic requirements of clause (5) of Article 22 is that the authority making the order of detention must, as soon as may be, communicate to the detenu the....
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....eme Court held that "the mode of conveying the grounds of arrest must necessarily be meaningful so as to serve the intended purpose. However, under Article 22(1), there is no requirement of communicating the grounds of arrest in writing". (Para 18). 25. In para 20 of the judgment, in the case of Vihaan Kumar (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that in the case of Pankaj Bansal (supra), it was suggested that proper and ideal course of communicating the grounds of arrest is to provide grounds of arrest in writing. Although, in para 23, the Hon'ble Supreme Court further held that "If the police want to prove communication of the grounds of arrest only based on a diary entry, it is necessary to incorporate those grounds of arrest in the diary entry or any other document. The grounds of arrest must exist before the same are informed. Therefore, in a given case, even assuming that the case of the police regarding requirements of Article 22(1) of the Constitution is to be accepted based on an entry in the case diary, there must be a contemporaneous record, which records what the grounds of arrest were. When an arrestee pleads before a court that grounds of arrest were not commu....
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....an Kumar (supra), makes it clear that the Hon'ble Supreme Court mandated informing the arrestee of the grounds of arrest in a mode and method so that the object of the constitutional safeguard is achieved. It was not mandated that the grounds of arrest should be communicated in writing. 28. Subsequent to it, in the case of Kasireddy Upender Reddy (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court discussed the law laid down in the case of Vihaan Kumar (supra) and in para 27 of the judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed as below:- "27. The object underlying the provision that the grounds of arrest should be communicated to the person arrested has been very succinctly explained in Vihaan Kumar (supra). On learning about the grounds for arrest, the person concerned will be in a position to make an application before the appropriate Court for bail, or move the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus. Further, the information will enable the arrested person to prepare his defence in time for the purposes of his trial. For these reasons, it has been provided by the Constitution that, the ground for the arrest must be communicated to the person arrested as soon as possible." 29. This ....
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.... time and in any case at least two hours prior to production of the arrestee for remand proceedings before the magistrate. iv) In case of non-compliance of the above, the arrest and subsequent remand would be rendered illegal and the person will be at liberty to be set free." 32. Further, in para 58 of the judgment in the case of Mihir Rajesh Shah (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that since there was no consistent or binding requirement mandating written communication of the grounds of arrest, clarity has been observed in the judgment. In para 58, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed as under:- "58. We are cognizant that there existed no consistent or binding requirement mandating written communication of the grounds of arrest for all the offences. Holding as above, in our view, would ensure implementation of the constitutional rights provided to an arrestee as engrafted under Article 22 of the Constitution of India in an effective manner. Such clarity on obligation would avoid uncertainty in the administration of criminal justice. The ends of fairness and legal discipline therefore demand that this procedure as affirmed above shall govern arrests henc....
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....tigating officer which necessitated the arrest of the accused. Simultaneously, the grounds of arrest informed in writing must convey to the arrested accused all basic facts on which he was being arrested so as to provide him an opportunity of defending himself against custodial remand and to seek bail. Thus, the "grounds of arrest" would invariably be personal to the accused and cannot be equated with the "reasons of arrest" which are general in nature." 35. Section 41(1) (b) (i) & (ii) of the Code, makes provision when the police officer may make an arrest. It reads as under:- "41. When police may arrest without warrant. - (1) Any police officer may without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person - (a). ... (b). ... (i) the police officer has reason to believe on the basis of such complaint, information, or suspicion that such person has committed the said offence; (ii) the police office is satisfied that such arrest is necessary - (a) to prevent such person from committing any further offence; or (b) for proper investigation of the offence; or (c) to prevent such person from cau....
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....nt itself; if the warrant is read over to him, that is sufficient compliance with the requirement that he should be informed of the grounds for his arrest. If he is arrested without a warrant, he must be told why he has been arrested. If he is arrested for committing an offence, he must be told that he has committed a certain offence for which he would be placed on trial. In order to inform him that he has committed a certain offence, he must be told of the acts done by him which amounts to the offence. He must be informed of the precise acts done by him for which he would be tried; informing him merely of the law applicable to such acts would not be enough. (See : Vimal Kishore Mehrotra (supra)." 39. In the case of Pankaj Bansal (supra), in para 38 of the judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the arrested person should be aware of the grounds on which the authorised officer arrested him/her under Section 19 and the basis for the officer's "reason to believe" that he or she is guilty of an offence. 40. In the case of Vihaan Kumar (supra), in para 13 of the judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that "Therefore, as far as Article 22(1) is concerned, complianc....
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....n immediate and informed understanding of the accusations. No material has been placed on record to establish that any prejudice was caused due to the alleged procedural lapse. In the absence of demonstrable prejudice, such as irregularity is, at best, a curable defect and cannot, by itself, warrant release on bail. As reiterated above, the High Court treated it as a determinative factor while overlooking the gravity of the charge under Section 302 IPC and the existence of a prima facie case. Its reliance on Pankaj Bansal and Prabir Purkayastha is misplaced, as those decisions turned on materially different facts and statutory contexts. The approach adopted here is inconsistent with the settled principle that procedural lapses in furnishing grounds of arrest, absent prejudice, do not ipso facto render custody illegal or entitle the accused to bail." 44. Based on the above observation made by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sri Darshan (supra), learned counsel for the CBI submits that even if the arrestee is given a written document, which contains the grounds of arrest, it is sufficient compliance of Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, which requires that the gr....
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.... believe that the arrestee is guilty of offence [Pankaj Bansal's case (supra) and Vihaan Kumar's case (supra)]. (b) The information, which is sufficient to enable the arrested person to understand as to why he has been arrested. [Kasireddy Upender Reddy's case (supra)] (c) The grounds to be communicated should be somewhat similar to the charge framed by the court for trial of a case. [Kasireddy Upender Reddy's case (supra)] (d) The acts done by the arrestee, which amount to offence. The arrestee must be informed of the precise acts done by him, for which he would be tried. Informing him merely of the law applicable to such acts would not be enough. [Kasireddy Upender Reddy's case (supra)] (e) The basic facts constituting an offence. [Vihaan Kumar's case (supra)] (iv) If the grounds of arrest are recorded in some document and the document as such is given to an arrestee, it is definitely communicating the grounds of arrest in writing to the arrestee. (vi) Law nowhere requires that the grounds of arrest should be recorded in a separate sheet and only thereafter it is to be given to the arrestee. 49. Factually, on behalf of the ....