New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has laid down safeguards governing the re-arrest of a person who has been released after a court finds that the original arrest violated constitutional protections.

A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar held that release following an unconstitutional arrest is not the same as grant of bail. The court stressed that constitutional safeguards under Article 22 apply irrespective of the seriousness of the offence.

The court said that an arrested person must be informed of the grounds of arrest, produced before a magistrate within 24 hours and provided access to legal representation as required by law.

In cases where authorities seek to arrest the person again after an earlier arrest has been declared unlawful, written reasons must be provided and judicial approval obtained from the magistrate, the court said.

The judgment also called for the investigation to be reassigned and a departmental inquiry into the conduct of the concerned police officer in appropriate cases. The ruling followed a case involving an arrest under the POCSO law in Punjab and emphasised the importance of due process in criminal investigations.