Grounds of arrest to accused: We want to strike balance, says Supreme Court

Supreme Court seeks balance between state power and accused rights, addresses necessity of furnishing grounds of arrest.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 22, 2025) called for striking a balance between the state machineries not misusing their powers and the accused not taking advantage of its observations to go free.

A Bench of Justices B. R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih was dealing with questions, including whether it would be necessary to furnish grounds of arrest to an accused either before arrest or forthwith after arrest in every case, including even those arising out of offences under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.

Also read: Informing accused grounds of arrest constitutional requirement: Supreme Court

“We want to strike a balance. On the one hand, we don’t want the machineries to misuse their power. On the other hand, we also don’t want that the accused take advantage of some of our observations and get free,” Justice Gavai observed during the hearing.

The apex court said the other question that arose was if the arrest would be vitiated if in exceptional cases, on account of certain exigencies, it would not be possible to furnish grounds of arrest to an accused either before or immediately after the arrest.

The Bench reserved its verdict on these legal questions.

In February this year, the apex court, in a separate judgement, said the requirement of informing grounds of arrest to an accused was not a “formality but a mandatory constitutional requirement”.