HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA:: HYDERABAD

Roc.No. 1399/SO/2023 DATE:09.08.2023

C I R C U L A R No. 12ISO/2O23

Sub:- High Court for the State of Telangana - Supreme Court of India -
Judgment dated 31.07.2023 in Criminal Appeal No (s).2207 of 2023
in Special Leave Petition (SLP) (Crl) No. 3433 of 2023 between MD.
Asfak Alam Vs The State ofJharkhand & Anr. - Certain directions on
Section 41 of Cr.P.C with regard to arrest of accused by police
omcers - Instructions - Issued.
Ref: - Letter dated 01.08.2023 in D.No.1031812013, of Assistant Registrar,
Supreme Court of India along with certified copy of the ludgment
dated 31.07.2023 in Criminal Appeal No (s).2207 of 2023 in Special
Leave Petition (SLP) (Crl) No. 3433 of 2023 on the file of Supreme
Court of India.
*****
The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in its Judgment dated 31.07.2023 in Criminal
Appeal No(s).2207 of 2O23 in Special Leave Petition (SLP) (Crl) No. 3433 of 2023
between MD. Asfak Alam Vs The State of lharkhand & Anr., issued certain directions
enumerating the procedure to be adopted by the Magistrates with regard to arrest of
accused made by the Police Officers. The relevant direction(s) of the Judgment is
extracted hereunder:

I.11 "Our endeavour in this judgment is to ensure that police officers do not
arrest the accused unnecessarily and Magistrate do not authorize
detention casually and mechanically. In order to, ensure what we have
observed above, we give the following directions:
11,1. All the State Governments to instruct its police officers not to
automatically arrest when a case under Section 498-A IPC is registered
but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the
parameters laid down above flowing From Section 41 CrPC;
11,2. All police officers be provided with a check list containing specified sub-
clauses under Section 41(lXbXii);
11.3. The police officer -
shall forward the check list duly filled and furnish the
reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest, while
forwarding/producing the accused before the Magistrate for further
detention;
 11.4. The Magistrate while authorizing detention of the accused shall peruse
the report furnished by the police officer in terms aforesaid and only
after recording its satisfaction, the Magistrate will authorize detention;l
11.5. The decision not to arrest an accused, be forwarded to the Magistrate
within two weeks from the date of the institution of the case with a
copy to the Magistrate which may be extended by the Superintendent
of Police of the district for the reasons to be recorded in writing;
11'6. Notice of appearance in terms of section 41-A crpc be served on the
accused within two weeks from the date of institution of the case,
which may be extended by the Superintendent of porice of the district
for the reasons to be recorded in writing;
It.7 Failure to compry with the directions aforesaid shail apart from
rendering the porice officers concerned riable for departmen'tal action,
they shall arso be riabre to be punished for contempt of court to be
instituted before the High Court having territorial jurisdiction.
11.8' Authorizing detention without recording reasons as aforesaid by the
Judicial Magistrate concerned shail be riabre to departmentar action
by
the appropriate High Court.
12. We hasten to add that the directions aforesaid shalr not onry appry to
the case under section 498-A Ipc or section 4 of the Dowry prohibition
Act, the case in hand, but arso such cases where offence is punishabre
with imprisonment for a terms which may be less than seven years
or
which may eltend to seven years, whether with or without fine.,,

Therefore, as directed, a copy of the Judgment dated.31.07.2023

in criminal
Appeal No (s).2207 of 2023 in speciar Leave petition (sLp) (crr)
No. 3433 of 2023
between MD. Asfak Aram Vs The state of rharkhand & Anr, is
encrosed herewith and alr
the Presiding officers of the District Judiciary are hereby directed
to compry with the
directions of the Hon,ble Supreme Court supra.
Any deviation in this regard will be viewed seriously.

-fut2...-

To
,m:tff+ffii.1ili.[].
1. All the unit Heads in the state of rerangana (with
a request to circurate the
same among the ludicial Officers working in your
Unit.)
2. All the..presiding Officers, working i,i
tni, friUrnjls in the State (for
information).
3. The Principal Secretaryto the Hon'ble Chief Justice (with a request to place
the same before the Hon'ble the Chief .lustice.)
4. All the Personal Secretaries to the Hon'ble Judges (with a request to place
the same before the Hon'ble Judges for their Lordship's kind perusal).
5. All the Registrars, High Court for the State of Telangana.
6. The Director, Telangana State Judicial Academy, Secunderabad.
7. The Member Secretary, Telangana State Legal Services Authority,
Hyderabad.
8. The Director, Medication and Conciliation Committee, High Court Buildings,
Hyderabad.
9. The Director General of Police, Telangana State, Hyderabad (with a request
to issue necessary directions to all the Police Officers working in the State.)
10. Section Officers:
(a) E Section and (b) O.P.Cell section, High Court for the State of Telangana.
 IrEP()R't'ABLri
IN I'I{E SLII'RITME C()U lil' O}' INDIA
C ItI MINAI, A I}I)trI [, I-AT II .'LI II.IS I}IC'II ON

CIiIMINAI- APPICAI- NO(S). 22T7 OF'2023

J,\it l S IN(,' O U'I' 0! Sll liCIA L L FI;l V[, I,lil't'II O.\ (Cll l..) No. 3433 OI.' z02.l i

MI).:ISFAK Al,.,tNI ..."\I'PDI,I,AN'!'(S;

VIRSUS

,I''.II] STA'TI|,
179683
OT.IHAITKH,.\ND & ANIi. ...ltEsi,o\D !)i\i'! (s)

.IUI)GN,IIiN.I' Cr.tlled to.be

U..r€ sosy
pL^,.._- , ,'
,\S6?3iarll .

S. ITAVINDITA I3IIA1" .I. Ll

I . on of l-rearing, i.e., or-r 26.01 .2023, this coru-L l:cartl rr-rr:
{.he previor-rs daLe

courrsel fol the parties to the Special Leave petirion. Ilut having r.egarci ro thc
peculial nature or the inrpugned orcicr, l<e;11 this uratler back lilr or.6crs
16 i.rc
pronouncecl today.
2. special leave gra,1ecl. ')'he appella.rl is aggricved by rhc clc.iai oi-
anlic.ipatorv bail ar-rd a lirrther direction 1o snrrenclcr belbrc thc Cour.t and
scr:ii
leeu lar bail.

3. The necessary facls are that the appel)anr and the seconcl r.cspondcrri
(herealiel refen'ed to as "husbancl and respect.ively) were lrrarricd
'r,ile", on
5.1 1.2020. 'l'he appellanl allegcs t.har 1hc lc u,as no1 hapuv ancl
responclcr-rt_u,,i
hcr father uscd to inlcr'lcle ancl prcssnr.izc him ancl his la.rily. .l.his lcd ro
complaints lodge d against the wife's f arn ily fbr thrcalcr-ring the appclla,l's
tanrilv. It is a)leged thal or.r 02.0t,.2022, r,r,ithor-rl cor.nplying u,ith 1hc dirccriors
 ?

ol'Irivc .iudgc Ilcnch it Lolita Ktrmari y.t. Goyt.

,i 1he concentecl et1 LiP &Ors
l)olicc Station2, rcgistered the Iiirst Inlbrn.rarion ILeport (FIit) agaiust rhc
appcllant and his brotl-rel ancl others. cor-nplaining of conrrnission of oflences
rrndcr Scction 49ti;\, 323i504/506 ol thc Indian Penal Codc, 1860 (IPC) ancl
Scction i & 4 ol thc l)owry Pr'ohibition Act.
4. 'l'hc appcllzurt apprcl-renclccl an'est and atrrpliccl for anticipatory bail under
Scction 8 ol thc Coclc ol ()'iminal Proccdurc, 1973 (CrlrC) belbr.c thc
43

Scssious .ir-rdgc, (ir-urla, .iharkirancl; thal application was dismissccl on

26.06.2022. 'l'hc appellanl lhcn approachcd the Jhalkhand Fligh Cor-u't secking
ar-rticipatory bail on 05.07.2022. Al1 this whilc, tl'rc appellant coopcrated rvidr
thc invcstigation. auci alter it.s courpletion, a charge-shcet" was fiied befole tl-re

S cssions J uclgc.

5. Oogniz.ancc was taken on 0 i . I 0.2022 by tl-re Scssions Cour1. 'Ihe Scssions

Oor-rrt notcd in this older thal on 08.08.2022. the Fligh Courl. llad protcctcd thc
appcllar-rt wilh tl-re interim order clircctir-rg that he rnay not be anested- When thc
application was hezu'd by the IJigl.r Court r'rcxl on 1 8.01.2023, .,vitl.rout advclting,
thc pcnding anticipatory bail was rcjectcd, and thc lIigh Court went on to direct
thc appcllant to slu'render belole tl-re competent Court and seck regular bail.
'l'hc lclcvant extracts of the Fligh Oourt irnpr-rgnecl order3 read as follows:

"Consiclering tlte .facts and c 'cunrlances oi the case ond rivol

contention.\ o/ the learned counseL, I .foutcl thal lhere cue serious
ollegalions ogainst lhe p(tilioncr lilLtl lhe in/brmant k also being
subjected lo cruelly hy ktdging criminal cates againsl the family
mentbars'fu.tl a{ier inslilttlion o/ lhis case.

C'on.ticlering !he rivol .szthnti.s.,;ion of learited counsel,s and ntaterials

ovuilable oguinsl pelilioner cts tlell os gar)ity of allegations, I om not
inclinetl lo gt'ctnt priviiege oj ulticipdlory boil to the pelilioner, u'hich
.slands rejeclet!.

, l20 t-1i 14 scr{ 7 tj.

:'(iuurla Mahila t'.S. in (lasc No.0?/2022.
rA.B.A. No.577t of 2022 darctl i.0i.2023
 3

l)etitirncr is LlirecteLl lo tt.rj.en(ler befitre the court belu\t ttnd prir' f,t,
regulur hoiL, the lcarne"l coLtrr berott,.vhuri cott.sider rhc,suttte rtn i/.v it:,,,rt
tneriIs, tt'it|utLrI being preitrciicetl hy Ihi.t. or.tler,'

6. 'lhe appellant contends thal impor.lance has bccrr placc(i bt, LI.jc
(lo:-rstitulion on the value ol'personal liber-t1, thc
necessil). for zrr.rcst hclirrc
fiiing ol'the charge sheet occr-trs whcn tl-rc accLlscd's custodial irrvcstigation or
inteffogation is essential or in ceflain cases invo]ving serious olI'crrccs rvirc:.c
L6c
accused's possibility of influencirle wit.esses cannot be rr-ricd
out. J.cai.ncti
cot-illsel contends thal an arresl carr be macle cloes not mandale
1ha1 i1. ougirI rcl bc
rltadc in e\''el] case artd emphasisecl that the clistinction
bet.,,r,ccn tirc cxisLcncc . [.
thc power (ro a,rcst) and thc.iustification of cxcrcising ir rnust
ar.,vays bc kcpr in
r,i,d. lt is t.hus argued rhal the proceclural requir.e,enls of scctiorr 4 JA or- ihc
CrPCI nrust always be lollowed in r)-ris regard.

1' I-earned coltnsel reiied uporr tl-re decisions o['this CoLrrt in ,4rne'h k'urtat.
v state of llihar and .4nothera, Srrencrer Kumctr lntir v. Cenlrcrl Bureatt r.t/
lnvestigatio, ancl Another5 v. State of uttar prctr)esh ot.tcr
and, sidcrharth
..'1nother, to unde.line the sub,rissions and also
highlighred that it is onry ir- thc
Investigaling otllcer berieves thal the accused ,ray abi^con(.r
or. crisobc;,
slltllrons then only, he or she needs to be taken inlo custody.
8. Learned cou,ser on beharf oI'the State sub,.rilted that
thc mcrc laci tlral a
charge sheet is filed woulcr not per se entille an accused
to thc gr-anr. or.
anticipalory bail, wrrich always remains disc'ctionar1,. 'r'hc
coun alwal,s wcighs
the possibiiity of an accrsed [depe,ding o, his
Past conducr'j of inriLrcncinrl
witnesses or olherwise la.rperirrg ra,irir evicrence.
It rvas highrightcd thar thc
respondent, who is a corrplainant in this case, had allegcd harassm,rl or.r zr
regula. basis by the appelant a'd his.elatives at
the matr-imonial hornc jr"rst
ab.ut one and a half months aftcr thcir r.narriage ar-rd
that she had cvcn bccn
4
[20t4,l 8 scR t2s.
i 120221 l0 scR j-s I.
r
Q022) t lCC 616.
 ,1

rhlcarcncd rr,'ith loss of iil'c. It rvas highlighted that according to thc

complalnaul, thc lhrcat cxtcnclccl 1o tlle onc that she u,oulcl be injectcd in such a

lu-lz rtlcl' tl-ra1 rucdical cviclcncc woukl disclose thal: she hacl clied ol a heart altack.

,4nult,sis

9. 'l'his court has cnrphasiscd thc valnes ofpersonal liberty in the contcxt of

applying discrction to granl bail. lt has bcen ruled, ir-r a long line of cases ll-rat

orriinarily itail o'.rgh', io. bc g1-antcd ancl that in serious oascs - whicll are

spccilrcd in thc provisions ol the CIPC (Seclion 437) rvhich involve allegations
rclatilg to olfcnccs carryilg long scntcnces oI otltel special olTences, thc coull
sftoulcl bo circllmspccl and carcl lin cxet'cising discrction. 'fhc paramount

considcrations in cases ra,l-rcre bail ol' anticipatory bail is clairned are llle natule
ar-rcl gravity ol thc olfcr-rcc, tl-re propensity oI ability of the accused to influencc

cvj.clcncc during investigatiott or intcrfere witl'r lhe trial process by threatening

or othcrwise trying to influcnce the u'itnesses; tl-re likelil-rood of tlle accuscd to

ilcc fi-our justicc trncl othcl suclr considclations. I)uring the trial, the cout't is

always in contr:ol of rhe is opcn fol it to impose any

proccedings, and i1
conclition r,r,hich it dccms ncccssary 1() onsul e llle accused's presence and
-i-irc
participalion in thc tlial. couri ll1iisl, in er./ely case. be guidecl by tlrcsc
ovcrarching principl cs.
i0. ln thc fivc iudge Bench clecision <t[ Su'shila Aggarwal v. State (NCT oJ'
l.)el.hi):', tl-ris courl had occasion to rcvierv past decisions, includilg colsideling
thc ludgmcr.rt in Gurbo.tuh singh sibbia v State oJ Punjabs and decide rvhetl.rer

inrposition of conditions liniit -rg thc orclcr o[ pre-arrest bail, palticularly u'hcn
clrargc-shcct is filcd, is warrented. Tirc cour'r held, lnter alia, tn its judgrnent
(M.11. Shah, J) that:

;,1020 (2) scit I

s 10801 I scR l3l
 .5

"7.6.7'htis. consiclering the ob-\?t.raliotls ntatla b! llrc ( ot1.\tittttittn llcnL.lt

qi this Oourr in Ourbak:;h Singlt Sibhia lGnrbak.sh Sin3h liibbiu t, iirurt
ry'' Punjob, (1930) 2 .94-t' .t/ij . t 9(50 SCC (Ct i) -t6J . tha (ott.t t?tcn,. ii
I
lhere ure rea:ons Jor doing so. litnit the opat.utbn of thc rttle r io Lt .\hoi.t
pet'iod onh ut'let.Jilin;; o./'an ['l]i in t.e-rpec! of the ntoler c.ot,ereil ht,
order und tlrc opplicenl nuy in -ttrch cuse l>e clireclecl to oht.un utt onltr
o/ bail uruler,Sections J37 or 139 o/ the Cotle- tt,ithin ct rctt;onuhle .rhrtrr
period ulier the Jiling ol the l,'lll. 'l'he Con,rtitLrrion llench l.tcr.;..firther
oh.ten'ed lltot !he satne nee(l not be /i'tltottecl tt,s ttn int,trriul.,le rttlc. lt i.r
fitrther obsen'ecl and hekl that nonnttl n e .shorrll be not to lintit lhe
operation o/ the order in relation to o periocl o{ tine. ttc trre o.f tht
opinion lhal tlte conditions can be intposetl b), tlle colul cotlcct.t1e.l rvhila
Srdtlling pre-ut.re-.;t boil rtrder int.lttciittg limitin! the ol)ct.Qlion of lhr
ortler in relation to a pet.kttl oJ tinre il the c ircunr., tr,r,r."., so \t).tri.alt!.
tttore por.ticulu.ly llrc stagc ctt y,hich the ,'anlicipcttot.t, l>Lti!' uplslicutton
i.s ntoyed. nantely, whelhet. tlrc .sante i.t ot lhe -ltage
helbrc the tt!t? i.t lilci
or ot lhe .stage when lhe l' l is /ilcd and rhe iniestigution i.* in p1.6g1e,"_.s
or ttt lhe.sttrge when !he intrc.ttigotiot.r is complete anii the thorge-.theet
i.,
-/ilecl. I lowevsr, ($ ob.tervecl heieinabrt,e, !he ntt.ntcrl rtle .rl.tottld be nrtt
lo limit the order in rela!ion to ct periocl o/ line.',

'l'hc
conculring vicw expressed (b),tlre author.ol-r.his.iuclgr.ncn,,)."vas:

''85.3. Section
438 CrpC doe.t not conrpel or oblige cotrrt.t t() intpa.\.r
condirions limiting reliel in tenn.\ ol tinte, or trpin
oJ t..ti?, or
recording o/ stalemenl o/ any witne.ss, blt the police, Jiling
dtit.ing inve.stigtrtion
or..inquiry. etc. While weighing crncl coriiduriig c,n
ctpplicatiotl (t'br grant
o/ anticipatory bail) the courl ho.e to consicletl tlte natr,,.:u
o7 tlru o/{euc".
t.he rale of the person, the likelihrxtcl o/
hi.s in/lurencirlg rh, ,,1
investigation, or tampering v,ith. evklente'linctuttiiig "orr.ro
intinlid(ttin:l
u.t.ilne.tses), likelilnod q/.//eeing justi.ce /.;ttch
a.t I'eot,ing the coLttlt\)). et(..
'l'he.,courts u,ould
be it.rslifiad 1antl ottght to iu,,1ro.r" ,-o,rrtitirn.r .sltell
..
ortt
in Sectbn.J3T(3) CrpC /-by..vi.nrc of iecrion jSllfZli.
t.h" ,r"r"""ir.y, r,,,
inlpose olher re.gtriclir)e conclilions, ytoultl htn,e
to ie'u,eighett on ct cdse-
and tlependtng Ltpon tlrc nuttericrls pro,rir,,i-"rt b.r'
l!,'ii:".0"':.,
or tne rnyesligating ogenc!. Such sltecial or
rhe Srerte
other re.\ttictit,e conclilion.s
ntay be impo:;ed i/'tlrc case or ca,re.f u)ctrrctnt,
but.ylzoulcl not be intpo:etl
i, ct rouline manner, in all ctrse.y. Like,,vise, conditk)n.s v,hiclt lintit th,
bai!,nwst be sranlect, i/ rttey are ,;qui,.et in rhe
i:rr::.!::::,!:!on,
()l ony cu.\e or cdsts, lny,et,er, such [irtr,,;
limititl!: contiit'ion;; t).t(t)1 not bc
invurio bly imposctl.

+++ * :t + * *,k + * * :L J: * ;r jF + + + * *
+ ;F + ++ :r *++* *

<95.1.Courtl. ought to be generally guictert by the co ns idefttt

io,.s. .yuclt a.r
nalloe and gro:,ity of tlze offences, the roli ctltribtrlecl
lo the applicctnt.
ctnd.the ./acts of the case, u,hile cnsassing
vthetlrcr ,o g,;n, ontic4)atory
bail. or refu.ring it. llhether to et.drlt or not i.r r, r,rritu,
of tli.rct.eliotl;
 5

equall)! \.'helhet', arul if so. u,hul kind o/ specill conditions are to fu

itrtpo.red (or nol intlxssed) ure depentlent 01 locls oJ the case, an(l rubject
ti the di.\cration of tlrc tourt.
85.5..4r'tticipotory baiL gruntetl c'an, depe.rtrling on lhe conducl ond
behavior.u'of rlrc accu.secl, co]ltinue a/ier./iling oJ the charge-sheet till end
o/ trial. .4lso order,t oj antici)arory bail shoultl not be "blanlcet" in the
sense lhol it :;hould not enoble the accusecl lo commit Jilrther o-flences
and clain relie/. lt should be confined to the o{/inte or incident, Jbr
which apprehension oJ drre.\t is soughl, in relalion to o speci/ic incidant.
It connot operate in respect o[ a J turc incident thdl in\,olves comntis.tion
o/ an ol/bnce.

+ * {: 1; + + $ :! + :r :3 :F + + i: + r.t + :l :k + * l. * + t 1, + ** {: + *
87. 'l'he hi.rtory o{ our Republic --
and indeed, lhe Freedom Movemenl
ha'^ how the likelihood of arbitrary arrest and intlefinile delention
"'hov,n
and the lack of safeguard.s in rallying the
played an importanl role
people to demand Independence. ll/itness the Roy,lall Act, the nationwide
prolests again.\t il, the ,lallianwala Rogh Massacre and several other
incidents, where the generul public were exercising their right lo prolesl
but were brutally ,tuppressed and erentually.iailed for long. The spectre
of arbitrcu'y and heovy-handecl atesls : too oJien, to harass and
humiliate citizens, and oftenlinres, at the interest of powerful individuals
(and not to further any meaningftl investigalion into offences) led to the
enactment ol seclion 4j8. Despite severdl l.aw Commission lleports and
recontmenelalions of several commitlees and commissions, arbitrary and
groundless at'rests continue as a pemasive phenomenon. Parliament has
not lhought it appropriale to curtail the pou'er or discretion o/ lhe courts,
in granlin1 pre-arresl or onlicip.ttory bail, especiolly regarding the
duralion, or lill charye-sheel is rtkcl, ot in serious crimes. There.fore, il
would not be in the larger interests oJ society if the Courl, by iudicial
inierpreiii io;i, linzits lhe exercise ai tha! pc|+'er : lke dangt:" af such cn
exercise u,ould be that in fractions, little by little, the discretion,
ot)visetlly kept wide, tvould shrink to a very nanou' and unrecognisably
liny portion, thus frustrating the objective behind the Provision, which
ha.s stoorl lhe le.\t ol lime, these 46 ))ears. "

i l. 'l'hc dccisions cited by counsel are Lrseful and valuable guides wilh
r.csrroct Lo tl-re powcr-s o1'thc police, the discretion and the duties of thc courL in

scvcl'ai kinds of oases, inciudirrg thosc lelaiing io the ma'uimonial offences such
as 49lin of lPC, and other cases. In .'lrnesh lQ.tmar (sttpra), it was held that:

"9. I;'rom a .plain reading of the o/bresaid provision, it ir' evident lhat a
person uccused oJ an oJfence pttnishable v,ith imPrisonmenl lbt a lerm
which nruy be less than seren years or u,hich may exlend lo seven years
v,ith or witlnut .fine, cannot be aresled by the police olJicer only on his
 7

.\atis1action that sltch peL\on 11 d tonlnli e{i the o[fence purtishab!e a.t
aJoresaitl. ) police of/icer be.lbre att.e.st, in .ruch cases hct.t- to hc ./inlrcr
.\otisjied thal such arrest i.\. nct e.\.\Ll )) ttt 1tt 1.y1,1,111 :uch per.son lront
cotnntilling unSt ./itrther olfenca, or for propar inyesti!:t ion oI llte ur.:c,.
or /o pt'eyenl lhe accLt.\'ei fi.ont cuu.ting the et,itlence ol the o//inte ttt
disttl4tear, or tampering +t,itlt strch eyklence in .tnv ?{tn,rct... or lo prc\,enl
.ruch per'.ron _/i'out ntalting an.v inducenent, tht.eu! ot Dtomi.\e lo d \.\,itne.\.\
so as to clis.rude him.t'ioru ciisc.it:tsing suclt /icls lo the cout.t or lhe gtlicc
o//icer; or unle.s.g such ccu.teLl per.\ot1 is arre:sted, hi.t pre;;ence in lhr.:
courl whenever requirctl caruxol bc ensuretl. 'l'hese are llrc conclLt.sion:.
trthiclt one ntay reach based on facts. 'l'he lau,uttrnclates.the police ofjirct
I. slalc the.fctcts and record lhe r.euso,s i, u,riling y,hich letl him to c,,.rt
lo a.conclusion coveretl by ony o/ lhe prot:isiott5 a/bre,taid tt,hile mukins
such orrest. 'l'he lau'./ rther r.tquire.: tha ptilice o//itet..t trt rec.ord thr:
retrsons in writittg Jitt. not mahin:l the at.reit. ln pith cux! cora. thc policc
o//icer beibre arrest nlus! pul tt que.ttiotl to himseli. t,hy urrest.? l.s. it
r.eolly rt,quircd? l|/hal purlnsr: it vyil! surtt? llrhttt ttIfect it tt,rll ac.htvt..?
It is only q/ier these que.ttior.\ are atlclres.sed nnrl o,rn or the otl,ter
conditions as enunteraled abot,e is ,stttis lietl, lhe p.tt,er of.trtt.esl nae(Lt
k)
be exercisecl. ln jine. hefore rtrrest Jirst the poiicc of{icer.s .rhoLtld hurtt
reason lo believe on the ba.tis o/ inJbrncrtion nrd,ratu,.iol
that tha
acc.used has^commiued the ofience. .4port
Jiom this, the police rlficer htr
lo be satisfed further ll1ot t!rc tn.e.\! i.r nece.t^.sttry
_foti u,ru ,r, lhe ntort:
putposes enyisaged b), sub-cluu,yes (n) to (t) r{ clcru.re (i)
(;rltC. " q/.Seclion _l I

'lhe court al.so issued vah.rablc

cliroctions to he [ol]orvcd b1, thc policrc authoritics
and the courts, in all cases witere thc question of grant
of bail ariscs. l;ur.thcr, thc
court had underiined thc cent.ality to pcrsonal .liberty in its crccision in
,Sidclharth (.supra):

"10. ll/e ntay. note lhctt personct!

libertt, is ot1 inlporlcttlt cr.tpect of our
contlitutional montlate. 1'he occtrsion lo cu t.est an accu.tcd clurinp
inve5.lforio,., arises y,hen ctrstoclicti i,t,astigtrliot,t
bn"o,nu,
is tr heinous crimc or ttthere. there. i,t cr"poisibility ,j nec.e.tsary or il
in/luenci,tg thn
v,itncs.res or accused ntat, obscond. ]uIerib,
becat"c tu arre.gl can be
,ruLle be.causc it rru,fur does not nttrnclcrte thor (trre.tl nntr.:l be
.i-r macle. r
dr. rnctron nttr.sl be ntadc bttween lhe e xistence o/.the porver lo
the justificcttiort Jbr exercise oJ it. IJ'c*rest
ctresl [m(l
i, ,rioin-iirii* it ccrtt ccttr.s,e
,.!:1,::,,"U.,u ha:nt to t.he reptiettictn ctricl sel/-e,rteent
o/ cr person. l/ tha
t n-t,e .rtigat i ng ofli..er has
n() reaso).l t0 beliette that the uccusecl tyill
ab.vcond or disobey ;;ttmmont.ontl has, rn
t,ith tlte invest i.qat iot.t we .fq /o trppreciate Jact. ,n,,lrrySirirl,, a,ooperlte(l
u,h)t tl.rere ;;houlcl he cr
compulsion on the a/Jicer lo orresl thc accusacl. ,,
 8

i2. lir thc prcscnt casc, this Coult is o I thc opinion drat thclc arc no staltiirrg
ibalr"rrcs ol clcn-lcnls that stand ou1 or nny cxceptional fact diserrtitlir-rg tl-re

appcllant to thc glant of anlicipator-y bail. What is iu-rportant is not tl-rat tl-rc
rnalr'ir.nonial rclationship soulccl altrost bclorc the couplc could cven scLtlc

rio',,vn but whcthcr a)lcgations. lcvcllc.l agair-rst t-l-rc appcllanr arc lnlc ol partly
LrLlc aL this stagc, u,hich at bcst lvoulci be tnallcrs ol conjccture, a1 least lor this
Oour1" I lor.r,cvcr, what is a matter of record is rhar the tiue rvhen the anticipatoly
irail was pending can bc divided into 1rryo parts - fir'stly, whcn thclc rvas no
protcction a.l-fordccl to him througit any intclirl orcler (between Aplil 2022 ancl
08.0u.2022). Sccondly, it u,a-s ot.t 0E.08.2022 that tl.rc Liigh Courl grantcd at.r

orclcr cili:ctivcly dirccting thc police no1 to all'est him Culing thc pcndeucy o1'

i-ris 4i8 of rhc Cll)C. Signi ficr:rr-rrly, the invcstigation

appiication unclcr Scction
\r./as corllplc1cd, ar-rd chargesheet r.vas filed after 08.08.2022, and in fact

cognizancc \,"'as tal(cn on 01.10.2022 by rhc Sessions judgc. 'l'hese factors r"'ere
o['ilrpoltance, and though thc Iligh Cout't has noticcd the factor:s but intcrpleted
thcm in an cnliroly diflcrcrrt ligl-rt. What appeals frotl1 thc lccord is thal thc
appellanr coopcrarcd w,ith thc invesrigalion both belbre 08.08.2022, when no
pr.otr:c1ior-r was granlccl to l-rinr and alicr 08.08.2022, rvhcn hc cnjoycd protcctiou
.:!l (ii iL,. ,,rrl rL- il-,--^nF nn Ol tO ?O'?
iiii rL^
iiiC t:l:.-^.
iiiii-r[] ,.C ^1.^-^^-t ^^r i:rjrli
tfiC iji]aigcs;icuL Lii- ui;6iii';ii-
^^o-i-.-^^
'l'hus. oncc thc cl-rargesl-rcct rvas filcd and thclc was no impcdimcnt, at least on
,.hc part oltl-rc accuscd, thc court l-raving regard to the nature olthe offcnccs, thc

allcgatiops ancl tl-rc lnaximum senlcnce o[ the offences the;i wet'c likely 10 cally,
ollght to havc granlcd the bail as a n'Iattel' of coulse. I-iorvevet', the coufl did r-rot
clo so but r-nechanically rejectcd ar-rd, viltually, 1o r-ub salt in the would dirccted

tirc appoilant to sur.rcndcl and scck reguiar bail bcicri'c thc Trial couri.
'l'hcrcfor.c, in thc opinior1 of this cour1, thc Lligh Coult I'cll into crror in adopting
'l-hc irlpr-rgnecl order of rejccting the bail and dil'ecring
sucir a casual approach.
rhc appciialt. to surrendcl and latel seek bail, therefore, cannot sland, and is
hcrcby sct asidc. IJefor c pafting, thc cotttl would
 9

dilect all the coufts ccased ol procecdings to strictly lollow the lau, laid down in
Arnesh Kumar (supra) and reiterate the clir ections contained thereunder., as v,,ell
as other directions:

"I. 1 l. Oul errdeavoul in tliis judgment is to ensLu.e that police

oI1-rcers clo not anest tlre accusecl unnecessarily and Magistrate
do not autl-rolize clctention casually ard mechanically. ln ordcr
to, ensure rvhat wc have observecl above, we give tl-re following
directions:

All the State (iover-rrrnenLs to insrruct its police olficers not

I 1.1.
to antomaiically alest ,,l.hen a case under Section 498-4 IpC is
registeleci but to satisly thcmselVes about the necessity for arrest
rurder tc paralreters laicl clor.vn above florving fr.om section 4l
CIPC;

1 1.2. All police officer-s

be provided wirh a check list containing
spccified sub-clauses under Seclion aI (l)(b)(ii);

I 1 .3. The police

officer- shall forw,ar-d tl.re cl.reck list duly filled
and fui'nish dte reasons and materials ra,hich necessitated the
arrest, while forwarding/producing dre accused befote the
Magistrate fol further. detcntion ;

1 1.4. Thc l\4agistrate rvhile authorizing detcntion of the accr-rsecl

sl-rall peruse the reporl fur.nished by the police officer in tenns
afo,esaid a,d only after.ecordi,g its satisfactior-r, lrre Magistrate
will ar-rlhorize detention;

I 1.5. The decision not to arrest an accused, be fbrr,,,arcled to tl.re

Magistrate withir-r tr,',.o ',l,ecks frorn thc clate of the institution of
the case ll,irh a copy to the Magistr.ate rvhich rnay be exter-rcled by
tl-re Sr-rperintendent of porice of the district for- the r.easons
to be
recorded in writing;

1 .6. Notice of appear-ance in ter.ms of Sectior.r 4l _A CrpC

I
be
selved on the accused witl-rin tw,o w,eeks from the c.late
of
instilr-rtion of t.l-re case, wl-rich r-r-ray be extencled bv the
Superintendent of Police of the distr.icr for the ."u.or,r'to b"
recorded in writing;
 1n

I I.7. liailr-rre to cornply u,ith thc dircctions afore:;aid shail apzu't

from ler-rdcring thc police officers concerned liable for'
departmental aclion, tl.rcy shall also be liable to L-.'e punished for'
conlempt of court to be institutcd bcforc the Lligh Coult havir-rg
ten itorial julisdicLion.

'l
1.8. Aurh,orizing dct-errlion r,vir-hout rccording reasons as
aibresaid by the JudiciaMagistratc conccrncd shall be liable tbr
departmcnlal actior.r by the appropriate I Iigl-r Cour';.

12. Wc hastcn 10 add that ti'rc dircctions al'oresaid shall not or-rly
appiy to iire case Lii-rclu- Scc'.iorj litt8-A IPC or Slccticn 4 of the
Doll,ry Prohibition /tc1, drc casc in hancl, bui also such cases
where oftbnce is punishablc rvitl-r irnprisonrncnt for a tcnns
lr4rich may be less than seven ),cars or u'hich n-ray exlend to
seven ycars, whcther with or u,ithor.rt fine."

II. The I'Iigh Court shail l'arnc the abovc dilections in thc form of
notil-rcations and gui<lc:line s t.o be tbllor.,"ed by the Sessions courls and
all othcl ar-rd criminal cor-rrts dealing rvith varions offences.

III. Likcwisc, the I)ircctor Gcneral of l'olicc in all States shall ensule that
strict instmctions in lcrms o[ above ciirections ale issued. Both the
I{igh Courts and thc DGP's of all States shall cnsule that such
guidelines and Dir:ecrives/I)epartmental Cilculars are issr-red for
guidzurce of all lowcr: couris zurcl police authorities in each State u,ithin

eight u,eeks liorn tociay.

IV. Affidavits of con.rpliance shall be filed befole this courl within ten

r,vecks by all the states and I Iigh Coults, thougl-r their Registrar-s.

13. The appeal is accordir-rgly allor,r'cd in the above terms. 'I'he appellant is
directed to be enlalged baii subicct to such terms and conditions that the
or-r

'lrial Court rnay impose. 'flre Lligh Courts and the Police Authorities in a1l
 11

Statcs arc rec;r.tilccl to comgrly rvitlr llrc abovc clircctiorrs irr thc r'nanncr spclt orit

irr thc ptira abovc, rvithirr thc tinrc iianrc',nrcrr,tioned'

,t.
ls. RAVrNr)lrn BIIn'r'l

lAll,NIND KUMn Irl

NIIW DE,T,I.II;
,IULY 3r.,2023