25 March 2025 Criminal Appeals & Suspension of Sentence >> Criminal Law  

The Supreme Court allowed an appeal of Ashish Kakkar v/s Ut of Chandigarh., challenging the arrest and remand of the appellant in connection with an FIR registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The primary ground for setting aside the impugned judgment was the clear non-compliance with Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which mandates that the grounds of arrest must be furnished to the arrested person.

The Court observed that the appellant was only provided with a standard arrest memo containing his name and place of arrest, stating that the arrest was based on a co-accused's statement. The Supreme Court agreed with the appellant's counsel that this arrest memo could not be considered as the "grounds of arrest" as required by law, as it lacked any meaningful particulars.

Highlighting that Section 50 of the Code gives effect to the fundamental right enshrined in Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, the Court found the non-furnishing of proper grounds to be a significant violation. In light of its recent judgment in Prabir Purkayastha vs. State (NCT of Delhi), the Supreme Court set aside the impugned judgment, along with the appellant's arrest and the subsequent remand order.

The Court directed that the appellant be set at liberty unless required in any other case. The appeal was accordingly allowed.

Indian Penal Code, 1860  

Section 50., Code of Criminal Procedure - 1973  

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973