New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (September 21) ruled out re-arresting a person after the earlier arrest was declared illegal due to the lack of evidence; the police require permission for the magistrate. The verdict was pronounced by a bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul Chandurkar. The bench held that if a person is released because of a violation of Article 22(1), the police must approach the jurisdictional judicial magistrate and secure permission before carrying out a fresh arrest. The application should submitted only after the accused has been provided the grounds for arrest in writing. It must also carry the endorsement of the immediate superior of the police officer who made the initial arrest. In the Judgement, the top court also stated that Article 22(1) of the constitution, that no arrested person can be detained in custody without being informed of reasons, is sacrosanct and has to be followed irrespective of the gravity of the offense. It held that it has to be followed for offences under special Act which includes PMLA, UAPA, As per the order, the application must also explain why the grounds of arrest were not provided to the accused at the time of the initial arrest. The bench further directed that departmental disciplinary proceedings be initiated against the police officer responsible for the first arrest in breach of Article 22(1). "Once there is a breach of Article 22(1), the power of re-arrest should not be left to the discretion of the very same authority who violated the provision of the constitution. It must be judicially implemented," Justice Bhuyan said, as quoted by Live Law. The apex court further stated that it is up to the magistrate to take a decision on the application. "It is only when the magistrate is satisfied that for bona fide reasons, the grounds of arrest could not be furnished to the arrestee at the first instance, but were furnished subsequent to his relief and on further satisfaction that the accused needs to be re-arrested, he may pass an order permitting the investigating agency to re-arrest," Justice Bhuyan stated as quoted by the edia house. As per the order, the case should be handed over to another officer. "On the administrative side, the superior authority when presented with the application seeking his endorsement for custody of the accused who has been released for violation of Article 22(1), shall hand over the investigation of the case to another officer, further directing departmental inquiry for such a serious lapse," he added. Sumit Sharma is a Deputy News Editor at Times Now with around a decade of experience across print, electronic, and digital media. Previously, he worke... View More