IMPORTANT POINT
The court reaffirmed that informing an arrested person of the grounds for arrest is a constitutional requirement, and non-compliance invalidates the arrest and remand.

ORDER :

The petition is filed U/s.528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as ‘BNSS’), to set aside the order dated 23.09.2024 passed by the learned IV Addl.Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vijayawada, in Cr.No.469/2024 of Ibrahimpatnam Police Station, Vijayawada City, and consequently, release the petitioner forthwith, unless he is required in any other case.

2. Heard Sri T.Niranjan Reddy, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri Y.N.Vivekananda, learned counsel for petitioner, learned Advocate General representing the State/1st respondent and Sri N.Srinivasa Rao, learned counsel for unofficial respondent No.2/complainant.

3. The petition is voluminous and run 100 pages. The petitioner raised several grounds both on facts and in law. It contains extracts of various provisions of law, facts of the case culled out of records from the present case and other cases. It also contains extracts from the judgments of the Hon’ble Apex Court and High Courts. Therefore, become voluminous. It is made clear that, at this point, this Court is not concerned with the merits of the facts in terms of the involvement of the petitioner in the alleged offence.

4. During arguments, Sri T.Niranjan Reddy, learned Senior Counsel and learned Advocate General informed that they would confine arguments to the aspect whether respondents/police informed the grounds of arrest to the petitioner, as laid under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India and Section 47(1) of BNSS, 2023. Accordingly, the learned Senior Counsel, the learned Advocate General representing the State and the learned counsel for the 2nd respondent/complainant submitted arguments on that aspect itself. Therefore, this Court refers only to the facts and law which are relevant and necessary to decide the said question and pass an order.

5. BRIEF FACTS:

The 2nd respondent presented a written report to the Ibrahimpatnam Police Station on 13.09.2024 alleging that on 03.02.2024, police arrested her at Mumbai in connection with Cr.No.90/2024 of Ibrahimpatnam Police Station alleging that she committed offences U/secs.384, 385, 386, 388, 420, 467, 468, 120-B r/w.34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as IPC) and produced her before the Magistrate at Mumbai, and she further alleged that she was harassed during transit remand on the way to Vijayawada;

6. The complainant further alleged that she was implicated falsely in the said cases for the reasons and circumstances mentioned in her complaint; Several allegations were made against the present petitioner and others that certain documents were fabricated by forgery etc; Ibrahimpatnam Police basing on her complaint, registered a case in Cr.No.469/2024 on 13.09.2024 for the offences U/secs.192, 211, 218, 220, 354(D), 467, 420, 469, 471 r/w. 120-(B) of I.P.C. and section 66 (A) of I.T Act, 2000 showing the petitioner as A-1, and others.

7. The remand report dated 23.09.2024 (Annexure-27 of the petition) in the case would mention that during investigation, the petitioner was arrested on 20.09.2024 at 06.30 hours near Tree of Life Resort, Bharathwala, Bisht Gaon, Rajpur, Dehradun, Uttarakand State, and provided arrest intimation to the petitioner; also furnished arrest intimation to Sri N.Bhanu Prasad, cousin of the petitioner as laid down U/s.36(b) of BNSS, 2023, (50 (2) of Cr.P.C., 1973); the petitioner was produced before the Magistrate at Dehradun on 20.09.2024 at 04.30 p.m. for transit warrant, as the place of arrest was far away from Ibrahimpatnam, Vijayawada; and it may take some time to produce the accused before the learned IV Addl.Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vijayawada, within the stipulated time; Learned III Addl.Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dehradun, passed transit remand order dated 20.09.2024, granting transit remand (Annexure-26 of the petition and Annexure-6 of the Counter); Thereafter, the respondent/police produced the petitioner before the jurisdictional Magistrate at Vijayawada i.e., IV Addl.Chief J