Hem Prabhakar Shah Vs State of Maharashtra (Bombay High Court)
The Bombay High Court allowed a writ petition filed by Hem Prabhakar Shah seeking a writ of habeas corpus, quashing of his arrest, and setting aside of the remand orders dated 15 August 2024 and 17 August 2024. The petitioner contended that he had been illegally detained and that his arrest was not in accordance with law.
The petitioner was travelling from Singapore to Ahmedabad on 13 August 2024 when he was intercepted by immigration authorities at around 10:00 p.m. on the basis of a Look Out Circular (LOC). He was handed over to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Police Station and remained detained there until the afternoon of 14 August 2024. Officers from Azad Maidan Police Station later arrived, took custody of him, brought him to Mumbai, and formally showed his arrest at 11:08 p.m. on 14 August 2024. He was produced before a Magistrate on 15 August 2024 and remanded to police custody.
The petitioner argued that his detention violated Article 22(2) of the Constitution and Section 57 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) because he was not produced before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours of being deprived of his liberty. He also argued that the grounds of arrest were not communicated to him in writing, contrary to Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 50 Cr.P.C. Additionally, he contended that the offence alleged against him under Section 420 read with Section 34 IPC was punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and that no notice under Section 41-A Cr.P.C. had been issued before his arrest.
