Lucknow, Oct 1 The Allahabad High Court has held that the 24-hour period within which an arrested person must be produced before a magistrate begins from the time of actual detention and curtailment of liberty, and not merely from the time recorded in a formal arrest memo.
The court's Lucknow bench made the observation while quashing the remand order of two persons arrested by customs officials in a gold seizure case and directed their immediate release.
Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on September 28 while allowing a petition filed by Sandeep Jaiswal and another.
According to the petitioners, their car collided with a police vehicle in Kannauj's Tirwa area on August 22. Police subsequently found that the vehicle allegedly contained around 10 kg of gold and took the two men into custody at about 5.45 am. They were later handed over to customs officials.
The customs department prepared the arrest memo only at 6.38 pm on August 23, while the petitioners were produced before a magistrate on August 24.
The petitioners argued that they had already been effectively detained much before the formal arrest memo was prepared and their production before the magistrate was therefore beyond the 24-hour period prescribed under Article 22(2) of the Constitution.
Accepting the contention, the bench held that the 24-hour period cannot be determined solely by the time mentioned in an arrest memo. Once authorities exercise effective control over a person's movement and liberty, the person is in custody for the purposes of Article 22(2), it said.
The court also clarified that the safeguard applies not only to police arrests but also when a person is taken into custody by customs or other authorities, according to the order.
Holding that the petitioners' fundamental right had been violated, the bench quashed the August 24 remand order and directed their release forthwith.
It further directed them to appear before the trial court within 24 hours of their release and seek bail or anticipatory bail, as legally permissible, it added.
