Gauhati HC issues directive on arrest procedures in Assam

Guwahati, March 13: The Gauhati High Court on Wednesday directed the State Chief Secretary and the Director General of Assam Police to ensure that law enforcement agencies properly outline the grounds of arrest when exercising the power of arrest without a warrant.

The Court emphasised that, under Section 47 of the BNSS, 2023, or relevant provisions of special laws such as Section 52(1) of the NDPS Act, 1985, authorities must issue a notice at the time of arrest, which should include the full details of the offence, the nature of the accusations, and the facts justifying the arrest.

The Court further stated that failure to comply with this requirement would render the arrest invalid, as it would violate constitutional mandates.

The Court also ordered that a copy of the order be sent to the Chief Secretary, Director General of Assam Police, and the Director of the Judicial Academy, Assam, to raise awareness of the legal requirements.

This order came during the hearing of a bail petition filed by Sakib Choudhury, who was represented by advocates Bijon Kumar Mahajan and Arshad Choudhury.

The accused, along with four others, is accused of committing bank fraud by transferring money from their target accounts to their own receiver accounts, using hackers who could clone the target accounts to facilitate the fraud.

The accused, arrested from a hotel in Mangaldai in January, allegedly operated multiple accounts under the names of firms, companies, and NGOs, with their network spanning across the country.

The defence lawyers argued that it is the constitutional duty of the arresting authority to inform the arrestee about the grounds of arrest, which include full particulars of the offence. However, they claimed that the accused was never provided with such information, which they contended violated his constitutional rights under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, as well as his statutory rights under Section 47 of the BNSS, 2023.

RR Kaushik, the Additional Public Prosecutor, appeared on behalf of the State and opposed the bail, arguing that there is sufficient incriminating evidence against Sakib Choudhury in the case diary. After considering the submissions from both sides, the High Court granted bail to Sakib Choudhury on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of like amount to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Darrang, subject to certain conditions.

- By Staff Reporter