Supreme Court says defendant’s reason for arrest: We want to achieve balance

The bench was caused by three separate requests caused by an order from the High Court of Mumbai. File | Image Source: Sushil Kumar Verma

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 22, 2025) called for a balance between state institutions without abuse of its powers, and the defendants did not use the interests they observed to release.

Justices Br Gavai and Augustine George Masih are dealing with the issue, including whether it is necessary to provide the defendant with reasons for arrest before arrest, or immediately after being arrested in all cases, including those caused by crimes under the previous Indian Penal Code.

Also read: Inform defendants about the reasons for the constitutional requirement for arrest: Supreme Court

“We want to strike a balance. On the one hand, we do not want the machine to abuse its power. On the other hand, we do not want the defendant to use some of our observations and gain freedom,” Judge Gawai observed at the hearing.

Another question of whether the arrest would be deceptive in special circumstances due to certain emergencies, it is impossible to provide the defendant with a reason for arrest before or after the arrest, the Supreme Court said.

The bench retains judgments on these legal issues.

In February, the Supreme Court said in another judgment that the request to inform the defendant of the grounds of arrest was not a “formal, but a mandatory constitutional requirement.”

It said that police failure to comply with the provisions would be a fundamental right under article 22 of the Constitution.

Last May, the Supreme Court declared arrested as “invalid” News Click Founder Prabir Purkayastha ordered the release. Purkayastha was arrested in a case filed under the Illegal Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Please read also: News Click Founder Prabir Purkayastha is issued from Tihar after bail

The Supreme Court said in its judgment that any person arrested for a charge of a UAPA or other crime charge has a basic and statutory right to inform the reasons for the arrest in writing.

On the bench, Tuesday (April 22, 2025) said the question is whether the defendants who were arrested should be allowed to profit from the court’s observations on the reasons for the furniture arrest.

“Should we forget all the basic reality?” asked the bench.

It further noted that some of its verdicts were also abused.

A lawyer who appeared in court said it was crucial to provide the defendant with a reason for arrest because there was a presumption of innocence until the court was proven guilty.

The bench was caused by three separate requests caused by an order from the High Court of Mumbai.

One of the pleas was filed by a defendant in a BMW crash in July 2024, with a woman killed in Mumbai.

He challenged the High Court’s November 2024 order that rejected his plea to declare his arrest illegal.

Before the High Court, the defendant raised the issue of allegedly no reason to arrest before taking him to custody.

Also Read | Comments: Arrests, Institutions and Criminal Courts

A woman is the mother of a teenager, allegedly brought up by the mother of a teenager, who allegedly had a Porsche accident in Pune in May last year, in which two people died.

The woman was accused of using blood samples from the teenager to determine that he was not drunk at the time of the accident.

She challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court, which raised a number of claims that raised questions about the grounds of arrest for consideration by the larger bench.

The third petition of the Supreme Court also brought a high court order referring to a batch of requests for consideration by the larger bench.