In case of non-compliance, the arrest and subsequent detention would be illegal and the person would be set free, the Supreme Court ordered. File | Photo credit: PTI
In a landmark verdict on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that arrested persons must be given the reasons for their arrest in writing in a language they understand, regardless of the nature of the offense or the applicable law.
Supreme Court of India BR Gavai and AG Masih ruled that reasons for arrest must be “supplied in writing within a reasonable time and in any case two hours before the arresting Magistrate is handed over for custodial proceedings”.
“The mere giving of reasons in a language which the arrested person does not understand does not fulfill the constitutional mandate under Article 22 of the Constitution of India. Failure to give such reasons in a language which the arrested person understands renders the constitutional guarantees illusory and violates the personal liberty of the person guaranteed under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution,” the apex court said.
Also read | Informing the accused about the reasons for the arrest constitutional requirement: Supreme Court
In case of non-compliance, the arrest and subsequent detention would be illegal and the person would be set free, the court ordered. The judgment was based on a case arising out of a high-profile incident in Mumbai in July 2024 involving a BMW vehicle.
Justice Masih, who authored the verdict for the Bench, emphasized that the constitutional mandate under Article 22(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees that an arrested person must be informed “as soon as possible” of the reasons for the arrest, is not a procedural formality but a fundamental guarantee of personal liberty.
“This Court is of the view that to achieve the intended objective of the constitutional mandate under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, the arrested person must be informed of the reasons for the arrest in every single case without exception and the manner of communication of such reasons must be in writing in a language he understands,” Justice Masih wrote.
“The reasons for the arrest must be communicated to the arrestee in writing in a language he understands and, in the event that the arresting officer/person is unable to communicate the reasons for the arrest in writing at or shortly after the arrest, he must do so orally. Said reasons must be communicated in writing within a reasonable period of time and in any event not less than two hours before the arrestee is brought before the judge ordered to be remanded in custody.”
Published – November 6, 2025 10:27 PM IST
