Jaskaran Jeet Singh Deol Vs State of Punjab (Supreme Court of India)
Illegal Arrest Cannot Be Cured by Instant Re-Arrest: Judicial Permission Mandatory After Breach of Article 22—Supreme Court
Summary: The Supreme Court has laid down stringent safeguards governing the re-arrest of an accused released due to violation of Article 22(1) or Article 22(2) of the Constitution. The police cannot, after securing the accused’s release through their own constitutional default, immediately re-arrest him by exercising the same unrestricted discretion.
Where an arrest is declared illegal because written grounds of arrest were not supplied or the accused was not produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours, any proposed re-arrest must have prior judicial approval, endorsement of the immediate superior officer and demonstrable necessity for custodial interrogation.
Facts of the Case
An FIR was registered against the appellant on 13.05.2026 for alleged offences u/ss 64, 65(1) & 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, read with section 6 of the POCSO Act. The allegations related to physical and sexual abuse of a minor girl.
The appellant was arrested on 17.05.2026 at approximately 7:54 a.m. but was produced before the Duty Magistrate only around noon on 18.05.2026. Further, written grounds of arrest were not furnished to him.
