The Kerala High Court has ruled that failure to inform an arrested person of the grounds of arrest, as mandated under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, renders the arrest invalid.

The Court emphasized that an individual arrested without being informed of the reasons cannot be detained “even for a second.”

Justice Kauser Edappagath, relying on recent Supreme Court rulings in Vihaan Kumar vs State of Haryana & Others (2025), Pankaj Bansal vs Union of India & Others (2023), and Prabir Purkayastha vs State (2024), observed that non-communication of the arrest grounds soon after the arrest amounts to a violation of a fundamental right.

The observation came during the hearing of two separate petitions—one filed by the father of an accused in an NDPS case registered in Malappuram, and another by the mother of an accused in a cheating case registered at the Koipuram police station in Pathanamthitta.

The NDPS accused had been arrested on October 2, 2024, and the accused in the cheating case on February 6, 2025. Both petitioners contended that the arrests had been carried out without providing the grounds of arrest, thereby violating Article 22(1).

The Court referred to Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which clearly states that every police officer or other person arresting any individual without a warrant must immediately communicate the full particulars of the offence or other grounds for the arrest.

The High Court further noted that Article 22(1) of the Constitution requires that the circumstances of the arrest be clearly explained and recorded, and cited the Supreme Court’s position that it is most appropriate to document the reasons in writing.

While the prosecution claimed that the accused were informed of the charges, the Court noted that no evidence had been submitted to support this assertion. In the absence of such proof, the High Court directed the respective trial courts to order the release of the accused.

However, the Court clarified that this order would not bar the investigating officers from re-arresting the individuals, provided that any such action is carried out in strict compliance with legal procedures.