24-hour deadline starts with detention: SC

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Thursday ruled that the constitutional mandate of producing an arrestee before a magistrate within 24 hours starts the moment one is detained for interrogation and not from the time when formal arrest is made by an investigating agency, since the liberty of a person is curtailed when one is detained.Noting that no artificial distinction should be created between detention and arrest, a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar quashed the verdicts of high courts which had held that the 24-hour period starts only after formal arrest and not during antecedent detention necessitated by statutory procedure of seizure.

Article 22(2) mandates that every person who is arrested and detained in custody has to be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of such arrest."Article 22(2) does not sanction exclusion of the time taken for enquiry and investigation before the arresting authority could effect arrest of the detainee.

This is beyond the mandate of Article 22(2) of the Constitution. Article 22(2) does not sanction creation of any buffer zone where the liberty of an individual is curtailed for investigating purposes but not formally shown as arrested.

Creation or contemplation of such buffer zone is unconstitutional.Join conversation InsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig Development .." the bench said.As it is common practice for police to record formal arrest much later, sometimes even a day after detaining a person for interrogation, Supreme Court's order would serve as a check on the police and other investigating agencies.

The court also noted that its order was meant to eliminate custodial violence, which unfortunately takes place during the time when a person is under detention and not shown as formally arrested, in the process delaying production before the magistrate.

Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app. ‘Jantar Mantar At Kochi’: CJP Announces Anti-SIR Protest On Nov 7; Abhijeet Dipke To Attend Agniveers' Second Tour Of Duty: IAF Details Salary And Savings Package Under Agnipath Supreme Court Ends Detention-Arrest Distinction, Says 24-Hour Clock Starts When Liberty Is Curtailed 'Johnny Johnny..': Sambit Patra Uses Nursery Rhymes to Mock INDIA Bloc, dares Rahul to debate Mamata 'Let's Face Each Other Head-On': Amit Shah Challenges Rahul Gandhi To Debate SIR In Parliament Rahul's Nov 1 Delhi Rally Under Fire, CAIT Announces Nationwide 'Dhikkar Diwas' Over Traders' Losses ‘BJP Misled Aga Ruhullah, Offered Him Lollipop’: NC Attacks Former Srinagar MP Over Resignation 'Mann Smelled Of Alcohol By 11 am': Rahul Gandhi Targets Punjab CM Over Drug Menace 'Abdul Won In America, Now UP Also...': Owaisi's 'Muslim' Message After El-Sayed's Michigan Win Modi Govt Revises Agnipath Scheme, Offers 2-Year Service Extension To 75% Of Agniveers 10 baby girl names inspired by the colours and charm of butterflies Optical illusion personality test: What you see first reveals whether you are a good listener or a born planner Quote of the day on love by Robert A.

Heinlein: “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own,”; Why someone else’s happiness becomes your own 7 Sadhguru quotes on Diwali that reveal the deeper meaning of inner light, positivity, spiritual growth and finding happiness beyond the festival celebrations