Quick answer
An arrested person keeps basic legal rights. Under Article 22(1) and (2) of the Constitution and the B.N.S.S., he must be told the grounds of arrest (Section 47), in writing as held in Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra (2025), a memorandum of arrest must be prepared (Section 36), a relative or friend he names must be informed (Section 48), he may meet an advocate during interrogation though not throughout it (Section 38), and he must be produced before a Magistrate without unnecessary delay and not held beyond 24 hours, excluding journey time, without a Magistrate's order (Sections 57 and 58). These rules build on the guidelines in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1996).
The constitutional base: Article 22
- Article 22(1): no arrested person shall be detained without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds of arrest, nor denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.
- Article 22(2): every arrested person must be produced before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours, excluding journey time, and cannot be detained beyond that without the Magistrate's authority.
Rights of an arrested person under the B.N.S.S.
- Section 36: the arresting officer must wear a clear, visible identification of his name and prepare a memorandum of arrest, attested by at least one witness (a family member or a respectable local person) and countersigned by the arrested person. If no family member attests it, the person must be told of his right to have a relative or friend informed.
- Section 37: the State Government must set up a police control room in every district and at State level, and designate a police officer (not below Assistant Sub-Inspector) in every district and police station to keep the names and addresses of arrested persons and the offences charged, displayed prominently, including digitally, in every police station and district headquarters.
- Section 38: right to meet an advocate of his choice during interrogation, though not throughout interrogation.
- Section 47: a person arrested without warrant must be told forthwith the full particulars of the offence or other grounds of arrest, and, if the offence is bailable, that he is entitled to bail and may arrange sureties. The grounds must now be supplied in writing (see Mihir Rajesh Shah below).
- Section 48: information about the arrest and place of custody must be given forthwith to a relative, friend or nominated person and to the designated police officer in the district; an entry must be made in a police station book, and the Magistrate must check compliance.
- Section 53: medical examination by a medical officer soon after arrest (a woman to be examined by or under the supervision of a female medical officer), with a copy of the report to the arrested person or his nominee.
- Sections 57 and 58: production before a Magistrate or the officer in charge of a police station without unnecessary delay, and no detention beyond 24 hours, excluding journey time to the Magistrate's court, without a special order of a Magistrate under Section 187.
Leading cases
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, Supreme Court of India, 18 December 1996 (Kuldip Singh and A.S. Anand, JJ.), reported as (1997) 1 SCC 416. Treating custodial violence as a violation of Article 21, the Court laid down 11 requirements to be followed in every case of arrest or detention, including name tags for officers, a memo of arrest, informing a friend or relative, a diary entry, medical examination every 48 hours, copies of documents to the Magistrate, meeting a lawyer during interrogation, and a police control room. Failure to comply makes the official liable to departmental action and to punishment for contempt of court.
Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra, Supreme Court of India, 6 November 2025 (B.R. Gavai, CJI and Augustine George Masih, J.). Reading Article 22(1) with Section 47 B.N.S.S. (old Section 50 CrPC), the Court held that the grounds of arrest must be communicated for all offences under all statutes, including the B.N.S.; that they must be given in writing in a language the arrestee understands; that if this is not possible at the time of arrest, they may first be told orally and must then be supplied in writing within a reasonable time and at least two hours before the arrestee is produced before the Magistrate for remand; and that non-compliance makes the arrest and remand illegal, entitling the person to be released.
D.K. Basu and the B.N.S.S.
| D.K. Basu requirement | B.N.S.S. provision | Old CrPC |
|---|---|---|
| Name identification and memo of arrest | Section 36 | Section 41B |
| Police control room with arrest details | Section 37 | Section 41C |
| Meeting a lawyer during interrogation, not throughout | Section 38 | Section 41D |
| Informing a friend or relative | Section 48 | Section 50A |
| Medical examination | Section 53 | Section 54 |
Example
Aadil is arrested without a warrant late at night. No memorandum of arrest is prepared, he is not told why he is arrested, and his family is not informed. He is kept at the police station for two days without being taken to a Magistrate. These facts breach Sections 36, 47, 48 and 58 B.N.S.S. and Article 22, and may expose the officers to departmental action and contempt proceedings under D.K. Basu.
Exam point
Arrest takes away liberty, not legal rights: written grounds (Section 47; Mihir Rajesh Shah, 2025), memo (Section 36), informing a relative (Section 48), advocate during interrogation (Section 38) and production within 24 hours (Section 58) build on D.K. Basu (1996) and Article 22.
