Bombay HC Rules Arrest Illegal For Delay Beyond 24 Hours, Says Medical Exam Time Can't Be Excluded

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently held that time spent on a pre-arrest medical examination cannot be excluded from the 24-hour window within which an arrestee must be produced before a Magistrate, as mandated under the law. The court declared the arrest of the petitioner illegal and ordered his release, citing violation of these provisions.

A bench of Justices MS Sonak and Jitendra Jain was hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by one Hanumant Nazirkar, a resident of Kothrud in Pune, who was taken into custody at 1pm on October 25, 2024, was produced before a Magistrate only at 12:20pm on October 27, well beyond the permissible 24-hour period.

The state argued that the petitioner was not formally arrested until 9pm on October 26 and was merely undergoing a pre-arrest medical examination. They also contended that since the petitioner remained in contact with his family via phone, he was not in police custody.

Rejecting these claims, the court observed that “arrest means a restraint on personal liberty and begins from the moment such restraint starts, not from when the arrest is formally recorded.” It further stated, “Even if a person is touched with a view to detaining, it would amount to an arrest.”

The court noted that Sections 53 and 54 of the CrPC mandate medical examination only after arrest. “The fact that the petitioner was taken for medical examination under these sections clearly demonstrates that the arrest had already occurred,” the bench said.

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It concluded that there was “no statutory basis” to exclude the time spent on the medical examination and ordered the petitioner’s release, subject to conditions imposed in a related case.