UAPA | Grounds Of Arrest Must Must Be Given In Writing To The Person Sought To Be Arrested: Madras HC
The Madras High Court observed that under Section 43B Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 grounds of arrest must also be given in writing to the persons sought to be arrested.
The Court was hearing a Writ petition seeking to declare the arrest and the subsequent remand of the Petitioners in connection with a Crime Case registered for the offences under Sections 34, 153B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 as illegal and unconstitutional.
The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V Sivagnanam observed, “…grounds of arrest must not only be orally informed but the grounds of arrest must be given in writing to the persons sought to be arrested.”
Advocate I Abdul Basith appeared for the Appellant and APP E Raj Thilak appeared for the Respondent.
Brief Facts-
An FIR was filed against the second Petitioner under Sections 34, 153B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 of the UAPA. The second Petitioner- Hameed Hussain, alleged to be the leader of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), is accused of using his YouTube channel, “Dr. Hameed Hussain Talks,” to incite young Islamists to overthrow India's democratic government. He was arrested and during interrogation, the police identified the first and third petitioners—his father and brother—as accomplices. They were subsequently arrested on the same day.
The court relied on the decision in Prabir Purkayastha vs State (NCT Delhi) 2024 INSC 414 where according to the Court it was observed, “the grounds of arrest informed in writing must convey to the arrested accused all basic facts on which he was being arrested so as to provide him an opportunity to defend himself against the custodial remand and to seek bail. Thus the mere “grounds of arrest” would invariably be personal to the accused and cannot be equated with the “reasons of arrest” which are general in nature.”
In the present case, the Court noted that the grounds of the arrest made available in the remand requisition report were served on the Petitioners before arrest in the presence of their lawyer and thus the Court found that the fundamental rights enshrined under Article 22(1) of the Constitution along with Section 43B of the UAPA had been complied with.
The Court did not find any infirmity or procedural irregularity in effecting the arrest of the Petitioners in the case.
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the Writ Petition.
Cause Title: Ahmed Mansoor v. State
Appearance:
Appellant: Advocate I Abdul Basith
Respondent: APP E.Raj Thilak, ASG AR.L.Sundaresan and SPP R.Karthikeyan