Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the state police and the home department to ensure proper training of police personnel on the constitutional requirement of furnishing written grounds of arrest to every person taken into custody.
The order was passed last week by Justice Gourishankar Satapathy while hearing a bail plea in connection with the July 2, 2025, robbery at a nationalised bank in Mandhatapur in Nayagarh district.
The court granted bail to the three accused — Pramod Nayak, Purna Chandra Prusty, and Shiba Dakua — on a bond of Rs 25,000 each with one solvent surety.
During the hearing, the HC expressed concern over repeated violations of Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which require that an arrested person must be informed of the grounds of arrest.
Justice Satapathy said this is a mandatory condition for a lawful arrest, and failure to follow it makes the remand invalid.
The HC stated that the grounds of arrest must be given in writing and in a language understood by the arrested person. If it is not possible to provide the written grounds immediately, they must be supplied within a reasonable time and at least two hours before the person is produced before a magistrate.
The HC further made it clear that non-compliance would make the arrest illegal and the accused would be entitled to bail.
Noting that such lapses are being seen in many cases, the HC said strict steps are needed to stop the violations, which often allow offenders to secure bail on technical grounds.
The HC asked the DGP and the principal secretary of the home department to personally supervise structured training programmes for police officers so that the constitutional safeguards are properly followed. It said failure to do so would affect the administration of justice.
