Failure to provide written grounds for arrest violates constitutional rights, rendering the arrest and subsequent remand illegal.

JUDGMENT :

BIBEK CHAUDHURI, J.

1. The present revision has been preferred by the petitioner, assailing the order, dated 16.04.2025, passed by the Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Saran at Chapra, in connection with Saran Town P.S. Case No. 743 of 2024, whereby and whereunder, the petitioner was remanded to judicial custody. The petitioner has prayed for quashing and setting aside the said remand order on grounds of alleged illegality in arrest, non-compliance with mandatory procedural safeguards and violation of constitutional and statutory rights, specifically enshrined under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India and Section 47 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

2. The genesis of the case lies in a written complaint, dated 25.12.2024, submitted by the informant, Shri Pankaj Kumar Sinha, a resident of District-Chapra, Saran, and a permanent resident of Newtown, Kolkata. On the basis of the said complaint, Saran Town P. S. Case No. 743 of 2024 was registered under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code (as replaced by BNSS ) alleging offences of criminal breach of trust, cheating, and issuance of dishonoured cheques.

3. It was alleged that the informant had extended financial assistance of Rs. 40,00,000/- through bank transfers to the proprietors of Skyline Builders, namely, Shri Anjan Kumar Maity and Shri Prithvi Raj Das, both residents of Kolkata, under a notarised agreement, dated 24.08.2022. The agreement promised repayment within 12 months against secured property.

4. Further, it was alleged that on 24.09.2023, the informant paid Rs. 50,00,000/- through bank transfer to Shri Prithvi Raj Das, the Proprietor of Property 360° for the purchase of a flat of 1083 sq. ft. super built-up area along with a car parking space of 135 sq. ft., against a total consideration of Rs. 72,00,000/-, under another notarised agreement. On the same day, an additional sum of Rs. 38,32,500/- was transferred for the purchase of a commercial shop measuring 182.5 sq. ft., and Rs. 50,00,000/- was allegedly paid in cash.

5. The accused persons, it is stated, failed to deliver the promised properties or refund the invested amount. When pressed, accused Shri Prithvi Raj Das issued seven cheques drawn on State Bank of India in favour of the informant's firm "Global Solution." All the cheques were dishonoured. When further confronted, the accused allegedly used abusive language and issued threats of physical harm, including murder.

6. The petitioner was named as an accused in the said FIR. It is the categorical assertion by the petitioner that he was not informed of the registration of any such case against him and was neither served with a copy of the FIR nor informed of the grounds or reasons for arrest prior to being taken into custody.

7. On 13.04.2025, a police team from Chapra Town Police Station visited the petitioner’s residence at Sankalp II, Tower 6, Flat No. 14+15F, Action Area I, Newtown, Kolkata and arrested him. The petitioner was taken to Newtown Police Station and thereafter produced on 14.04.2025 before the Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sadar Court, Barasat, North 24 Parganas, where a transit remand was sought by the Chapra police.

8. It is noteworthy that till this stage, the petitioner was allegedly neither informed of the grounds of arrest nor served with the FIR. The arrest memo handed over to the petitioner’s wife was allegedly incomplete, with several columns left blank, including the "reasons for arrest."

9. A certified copy of the FIR was applied for by the petitioner's wife on 15.04.2025 through legal counsel in Chapra, and the same was obtained from the Civil Court, enabling the petitioner’s legal team to understand the allegations against him.

10. Pursuant to the order, dated 14.04.2025, granting transit remand, the petitioner was transported to Chapra and produced before the Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Saran at Chapra on 16.04.2025, and a prayer was made by the police for judicial remand.

11. On the