18 December 1968
Supreme Court
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IN THE MATTER OF MADHU LIMAYE & ORS. Vs


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PETITIONER: IN THE MATTER OF MADHU LIMAYE & ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT:

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 18/12/1968

BENCH: GROVER, A.N. BENCH: GROVER, A.N. SHAH, J.C. RAMASWAMI, V.

CITATION:  1969 AIR 1014            1969 SCR  (3) 154

ACT: Constitution  of India, Art. 22,(1)-Necessity  of  informing person  arrested  grounds for his arrest-Arrest  illegal  if Article  not  complied with-Order of  remand  by  magistrate cannot cure constitutional infirmity.

HEADNOTE: The  petitioners  were  arrested on November 6,  1968  at  a railway station in Bihar.  According to the  Sub-Inspector’s report  recorded in the general diary they had taken  out  a procession  in defiance of a prohibitory order under s.  144 Cr.   P.C. and had been arrested under s. 151 Cr.   P.C.  It was  stated that report was being submitted "under  sections 107 and 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code and under s.  188 of  the Indian Penal Code." On November 6 itself  the  first petitioner sent a petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution in  the  form  of  a  letter  mentioning  that  he  and  his companions  had been arrested but no grounds of ’arrest  had been communicated to them and they had been merely told that the  arrests  had  been  made  "under  sections  which  were bailable".   It was prayed that a writ of Habeas  Corpus  be issued.  On November 7, 1968 a similar petition was sent  by the  petitioners from Jail.  The additional fact  given  was that the arrested persons had been produced before the  sub- Divisional  Magistrate who bad on their refusal  to  furnish bail remanded them to custody upto November 20, 1968.   Rule nisi  was issued by this Court to the State  authorities  to produce  the  petitioners before the Court on  November  25, 1968.   On November 19, 1968 a first information report  was recorded in which it was alleged that the petitioners had on November 6, 1968 committed offences under ss. 188 and 143 of the  Penal  Code.  In the return, before this Court  it  was explained on behalf of the State that the  officer-in-charge while  forwarding the arrested persons on November 6,  1968, had by mistake omitted to mention s. 143 I.P.C. which was  a cognizable  offence.  It was urged that the order of  remand passed  by  the Magistrate could not be said to  be  illegal merely because of the omission of s. 143 I.P.C. in the order sheet  when the police report clearly made out a case  under that section.  It was not claimed that the grounds of arrest had been supplied to the petitioners.

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HELD  :  (i)  When the arrests were effected  by  the   Sub- Inspector  on November 6, 1968, the offences for  which  the arrests were made were not stated to be cognizable.  In  the various reports etc. the only offence alleged was one  under s.  188 I.P.C. which is non-cognizable.  There was force  in the suggestion of the petitioners that the first information report  came  to be recorded formally on November  19,  1968 only  because the matter had been brought to this  Court  by way  of a petition under Art. 32 and a further petition  had been  moved in the :High Court under Art. 226.  It  was  not proved  that the arrest had been made at the direction of  a Magistrate who was present.  It was somewhat surprising that no  affidavit  of the said Magistrate had  been  filed.   It would  be  legitimate  to conclude that the  arrest  of  the petitioners  was effected by the police  officers  concerned without any specific orders or directions of a Magistrate on November 6, 1968 for the offences and proceedings  mentioned before  in  the various reports made prior to  November  19, 1968. 1159 D-E; 160 B-161 B] 155 (ii) The two requirements of cl. (1) of Art. 22 are meant to afford  the earliest opportunity to the arrested  person  to remove  any mistake, misapprehension or misunderstanding  in the  minds  of the arresting authority and,  also,  to  know exactly  what the accusation against him is so that  he  can exercise  the  second right, namely, of consulting  a  legal practitioner  of  his  choice and to  be  defended  by  him. Whenever  the  Article is not complied with  the  petitioner would  be entitled to a writ of Habeas Corp s directing  his release. [162 E-163 C] In  the present case the return filed by the State  did  not contain  any  information  as  to  when  and  by  whom   the petitioners  were informed of the grounds of their  -arrest. It  had not been contended on behalf of the State  that  the circumstances were such that the arrested persons trust have known the, general nature of the alleged offences for  which they  had  been arrested.  The  petitioners  were  therefore entitled to be released on this ground alone. [ 163 F] (iii)     Once  it  was shown that the arrests made  by  the police officers were illegal it was necessary for the  State to  establish  that at the stage of  remand  the  Magistrate directed  detention in jail custody after applying his  mind to  all relevant matters.  This the State had failed to  do. The remand orders were patently routine and appeared to have been made mechanically.  if the detention of the petitioners in, custody could not continue after    their arrest because of the violation of Art. 22(1) of the Constitution’,   they were    entitled    to   be   released    forthwith.     The orders   of  remand  were  not  such  as  would   cure   the constitutional infirmities. [1163 G-164 B] Christie  & Anr. v. Leachinsky, [1947] 1 All, E.R. 567,  Ram Narayan  Singh  v. State of Delhi & Ors., A.I.R.  1953  S.C. 277, applied.

JUDGMENT: ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petition No. 355 of 1968. Petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India for writ in the nature of habeas corpus. The petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 appeared in person. M. C. Chagla and D. Goburdhun, for the State of Bihar. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Grover,  J. Madhu Limaye, Member of Lok Sabha,  and  several other   persons  were  arrested  on  November  6,  1968   at

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Lakhisarai  Railway Station near Monghyr.  On the same  date Madhu Limaye addressed a petition in the form of a letter to this Court under Art. 32 of the Constitution mentioning that he  along with his companions had been arrested but had  not been communicated the reasons or the grounds for arrest.  It was  stated that the arrested persons had been  merely  told that  the arrests had been made "under sections  which  were bailable".   It was prayed that a writ of Habeas  Corpus  be issued  for  restoring liberty as the arrest  and  detention were  illegal.  On November 7, 1968, a similar petition  was sent from Monghyr jail.  The additional fact given was  that the  arrested  persons  had been produced  before  the  Sub- Divisional Magistrate who had offered to 1 56 release  them on bail but they had refused to furnish  bail. The  Magistrate had, thereupon, remanded them to custody  up to November 20, 1968.  This Court issued a rule nisi to the, GOVernment  of  Bihar and Supdt.  District Jail,  Moghyr  to produce  Madhu Limaye and others whose names were  given  in the order dated November 12, 1968 on November 25, 1968. The  State of Bihar filed a return but on November 25,  1968 the Court directed the Advocate General of Bihar to  produce the  relevant documents in connection with the recording  of the  first information report, the investigation  made,  the report to the Magistrate and order sheet, etc.  The  hearing was adjourned to December 2, 1968. It  is apparent from the documents and papers placed  before us  that on November 2, 1968, the Sub-Divisional  Magistrate Monghyr  issued an order under s. 144,  Cr.P.C.  prohibiting assemblage of five or more persons within the limits of  100 yards  of Kiul and Lakhisarai Railway Stations for a  period of  one  week from November 5, 1968 to  November  12,  1968. According  to the report submitted by the Sub-Inspector  in- charge of the Government Railway Police Station Kiul to  the Sub-Divisional  Magistrate, Sadar, Madhu Limaye  and  others had  defied  the  prohibitory orders  issued  under  s.  144 Cr.P.C.,  by holding and addressing a public meeting at  the railway  ground at Lakhisarai Railway Station  between  4.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. on November 5, 1968 and some out of  them had  exhorted  the public in provocative language  to  offer satyagraha at the Railway Station and to disrupt the railway communications as also to obstruct the normal functioning of the railway offices at Lakhisarai.  It was prayed that their prosecution  be  ordered under s. 188.  Indian  Penal  Code. Dharamraj  Singh Sub-Inspector entered a report (Sanha)  No. 109  on  November  6, 1968, in the general  diary.   It  was stated  inter alia that Madhu Limaye and others took  out  a procession  at  3 O’Clock with a flag in  violation  of  the order made under s. 144, Cr.P.C. They had entered the  Rail- way  Station for launching a strike shunting slogans.   This group  had been followed by several other groups of  persons the  last being the 8th group (the names in each group  were mentioned).   All these persons had been arrested  under  s. 151,  Cr.P.C.  and  had  been  sent  to  the  Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sadar, Monghyr.  These incidents happened in the presence of Shri Mathur, Magistrate 1st Class, Monghyr, Shri B.  N.  Singh, Railway Magistrate Kiul etc.  It  was  stated that the report was being submitted " under sections 107 and 117  of the Criminal Procedure Code and under S. 188 of  the Indian Penal Code".  Admittedly no first information  report was  formally  registered  on that date which  was  done  on November 19, 1968 at 23.30 hrs.  In this report 1 5 7 in which the date of occurrence is mentioned ’as November 6, 1968 it was stated that the accused persons had entered  the

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Railway  Station by illegally forming a mob  disobeying  the order   under  s.  144,  Cr.P.C.  to  disturb   the   normal functioning of the railways and had committed offences under s. 143, I.P.C. and s.    122 of the Railways Act. The State of Bihar has filed a return according to which the circumstances in which the prohibitory order was promulgated under s. 144, Cr.P.C., are set out.  It was stated that from the  leaflets  circulated  by the  Lakhisarai  unit  of  the Samyukta  Socialist Party on November 4, 1968,  it  appeared that  the  party  had decided to hold a  public  meeting  on November  5, 1968 and to launch satyagraha at Lakhisarai  on November  6,  under  the leadership  of  Madhu  Limaye.   On November 5, Madhu Limaye and others held a public meeting of about  400 persons at the railway ground in defiance of  the order  under s. 144 Cr.P.C. and exhorted the public to  hold satyagraha at Lakhisarai Railway Station on November 6  etc. A report was submitted by the officer-in-charge of the  Kiul Government  Railway Police Station on November 6,  on  which the   Sub-Divisional  Magistrate, Sadar, made  an  order  on November 11, 1968 directing show cause notices to be  issued to  Madhu Limaye and others as to why action under  s.  188, Indian  Penal  Code, should not be taken against  them.   On November  6,  1968,  a procession of about  200  persons  of Samyukta Socialist Party led by Madhu Limaye and others came to  the  main  gate of the platform  of  Lakhisarai  Railway Station where a Magistrate, Inspector of Railway Police  and Officer-in-charge of Kiul Government Railway Police  Station were present.  When these persons, in spite of the  warning, forcibly  entered the platform and violated the order  under s. 144, Cr.P.C., the Magistrate on duty, Shri K. B.  Mathur, directed the police officers present to arrest them.   Madhu Limaye  and others were arrested and a case  was  instituted against them.  They were produced before the  Sub-Divisional Magistrate who, on November 6, remanded them to jail custody till November 20, as they refused to furnish bail bonds.  On November 6, another report was submitted by ’the officer-in- charge, Kiul Government Railway Police Station for the inci- dents  which happened on November 6, 1968.  A case had  been started  on  that  report and show cause  notices  had  been issued for November 20, 1968 as to why action should not  be taken under s. 188, I.P.C. It was claimed that Madhu  Limaye and others had committed offences under s. 188 and under  s. 143 Penal Code (which is cognizable) by violating the orders made under s. 144 Cr.P.C., and by forming unlawful assembly. It was explained that while forwarding the arrested  persons the  Officer-in-charge,  my mistake, omitted to  mention  s. 143.  It 158 was  asserted  that the order of remand passed by  the  Sub- Divisional Magistrate could not be said to be illegal merely because  of  omission of s. 143, Indian Penal Code,  in  the order  sheet when the police report clearly made out a  case under  that section.  It was affirmed that Madhu Limaye  and others had not been arrested on November 6, while they  were participating in a peaceful satyagraha or that the  officer- in-charge  Kiul purported to arrest all these  persons  only under ss. 151, 107 and 117 of the Cr.P.C. The annexures attached to the return filed by the State  and the  documents contained in the original records which  were sent  for have revealed the following state of affairs.   On November 6, the officer-in-charge, Government Railway Police Station  Kiul made what is called report (annexure-D)  under s. 107(3), Cr.P.C. This contained a prayer that Madhu Limaye and  115  others, vide list attached, should be  bound  over under s. 107 with an order to furnish ad-interim bonds.   It

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was  stated under column No. 5 (brief history of  the  case) that  as their acts on November 6, 1968 between  09.15  hrs. and 16.30 hrs. on the Lakhisarai Railway Station were likely to  lead  to breach of peace 1.51, Cr.P.C. The  same  police officer addressed a letter to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sadar, to the following effect :               "I   am  forwarding  herewith  the   following               accused  persons (list attached  herewith)  in               custody   as  they  have  been  arrested   u/s               151/107/117(3),  Cr.P.C.  They may  kindly  be               remanded  in  jail Hazat for  a  fortnight  by               which  time report u/s 107/117(3) Cr.P.C.  and               188 T.P.C. be routed through proper channel." As  stated in the return two show cause notices were  issued by  the  Sub-Divisional  Magistrate Shri P. P.  N.  Sahi  on November  11, 1968 relating to the incidents on November  5, 1968  and the following day.  Madhu Limaye and  others  were asked  to show cause why action should not be taken  against them  under s. 188.  On November 19, 1968 another order  was made  by  a different Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shri  K.  K. Pathak  saying that a petition had been filed on  behalf  of the  State in which it was alleged that the accused  persons had committed offences tinder ss. 143/448 I.P.C., by forming unlawful  assembly  with  the common  object  of  committing criminal trespass in violation of the duly promulgated order under  s.  144 Cr.P.C. It was prayed that these  persons  be summoned  for being tried for offences under  the  aforesaid sections.   A show cause notice appears to have been  issued on or about November 20, 1968.  The remand orders which were passed on November 6 and 20, 1968 159 were  made  on the basis that the accused persons  had  been "arrested and forwarded under custody under ss.  151/107/117 Cr-P.C. by Sub-Inspector, Government Railway Police  Station Kiul". Madhu  Limaye, who has addressed arguments in  person’,  has raised, inter alia, the following main contentions :               1.    The  arrests  on November 6,  1968  were               illegal inasmuch as they had been effected  by               Police  Officers for offences which were  non-               cognizable.               2.    There, was a violation of the  mandatory               provisions of Art. 22(1) of the Constitution.               3.    The  orders  for  remand  were  bad  and               vitiated.               4.    The arrests were effected for extraneous               considerations  and  were  actuated  by   mala               fides. The entire sequence of events from November 5, 1968  onwards is somewhat unusual and has certain features which have  not been  explained on behalf of the State.  In the first  place when  the  arrests were effected by  the  Sub-Inspector  In- charge  of Government Railway Police Station on November  6, 1968  the offences for which the arrests were made were  not stated  to be cognizable.  In the various reports  etc.,  to which  reference has been made the only offence alleged  was one  under  s.  188  I.P.C.  which  is  non-cognizable.   On November 6, 1968 apart from the allegation of commission  of offences under s. 188 the police reports disclose a  variety of  proceedings which were sought to be taken.  Section  151 in all likelihood was invoked for effecting the arrests  but proceedings  were  initiated under s. 107 which  appears  in Chapter   VIII  of  the  Cr.P.C.  Under  that  section   the Magistrate  can require a person about whom information  has been received that he is likely to commit a breach of peace,

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to show cause why he should not be ordered to execute a bond for  a  period not exceeding one year,  for  keeping  peace. Under  s. 117, which was also invoked, the Magistrate  makes an  enquiry  as  to  the  truth  of  an  information.    But proceedings  under S. 107 have to follow the procedure  laid down in Chapter VIII and arrest cannot be effected unless  a Magistrate  issues a warrant for that purpose under s.  114. Section 151 which has been repeatedly referred to in various documents  is  meant  for arresting without  a  warrant  and without  orders from a Magistrate if a police officer  knows of  a  design  to commit any cognizable offence  and  if  it appears to him that the commission of such offence cannot be otherwise prevented. There  can  be  no manner of doubt, and  this  position  has hardly  been controverted by Mr. Chagla for the State,  that in all the documents which were prepared before November 19, 16 0 1968 there was no mention of an offence under S. 143  I.P.C. having been committed by Madhu Limaye and other persons who- were arrested on November 6, 1968.  It is obviously for that reason that no formal first information report was  recorded on  November 6, 1968 which would have necessarily been  done if  the police officers effecting arrests had thought of  S. 143,  Indian Penal Code which is a cognizable  offence.   No explanation has been furnished on behalf of the State as  to why the information which was recorded in the general  diary on  November  6,  was  not recorded  as  an  information  in cognizable  cases  under s. 154 of the  Cr.P.  Code.   There is,force  in the suggestion of Madhu Limaye that  the  first information report came to be recorded formally on  November 19,  1968 only because the matter had been brought  to  this Court by way of a petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution and  after a rule nisi had been issued and a petition  under Art.  226  had  been filed in the  Patna  High  Court.   The authorities  then  realised that they  had  been  completely oblivious  of the true position that arrests could not  have been  effected for a non-cognizable offence made  punishable under  s. 188, Indian Penal Code or for  taking  proceedings under  s.  107, Cr.P.C. Under S. 151  Cr.P.Code  the  police officer could have arrested without a warrant but Mr. Chagla has  not  sought justification for the  arrests  under  that provision.  He has pointed out that a prohibitory order  had been  issued  under s. 144 which had been  defied  by  Madhu Limaye  and the other persons and therefore an  offence  had been  committed  under S. 143 I.P.C. The mere  omission,  he says,  to  mention a section cannot affect the  legality  or validity  of  the proceedings.  Mr. Chagla has also  laid  a great  deal of emphasis on the statement in the return  that when Madhu Limaye and others were arrested they had violated the orders under S. 144, Cr.P.C. and the Magistrate on  duty Shri  K. B. Mathur directed the police officers  present  to arrest  them.   The return is supported by an  affidavit  of Shri  S. C. Prasad, Magistrate 1st Class, Monghyr  according to  whom  the  contents of para 6 in  which  this  statement occurs   were  true  to  his  knowledge.   It  is   somewhat surprising  that the affidavit of Shri K. B. Mathur has  not been  filed who would have deposed to all that  happened  in his  presence and the reasons for ordering the arrests.   It is  most unusual and extraordinary that in spite of  arrests having been ordered by the Magistrate there is not one  word in  any of the papers or documents which have been  produced relating to this fact.  The least that was expected was that there  would  have  been some mention of the  order  in  the detailed statement entered in General Diary by the  Sub-Ins- pector  in-charge Kiul Police Station on November 6, on  the

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basis  of  which  a  formal  first  information  report  was registered  on November 19, 1968.  There, however, only  the pre- 161 sence  of certain officers and other persons including  Shri Mathur  is noted.  It would be legitimate to  conclude  that the  arrest of Madhu Limaye and his companions was  effected by the police officers concerned without any specific orders or  directions of a Magistrate on November 6, 1968  for  the offences  and  the  proceedings  mentioned  ’before  in  the various reports made prior to November 19, 1968. The  submission  of  Madhu Limaye on the  second  point  has hardly  been effectively met on behalf of the  State.   Art. 22(1)  provides  that  no person who is  arrested  shall  be detained  in custody without being informed, as soon as  may be,  of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he  be  denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.  Madhu Limaye had, in his petitions addressed to  this  Court, made a positive assertion that he  and  his companions  had not been informed of the grounds  for  their arrest.  In the return filed by the State this assertion has neither been controverted nor has anything been stated  with reference  to it, It appears that the authorities wanted  to invoke all kinds of provisions like ss. 151, 107/117 of  the Cr.P.C.  apart from s. 188 of the Indian Penal Code.   Since no  arrest could be effected for an offence under s. 188  by the police officers without proper order these officers  may have  been naturally reluctant to comply with the  mandatory requirements   of  Art.  22(1)  by  giving   the   necessary information.  At any rate, whatever the reasons, it has  not been explained even during the course of arguments before us why the arrested persons were not told the reasons for their arrest or of the offences for which they had been taken into custody. Art. 22(1) embodies a rule which has always been regarded as vital  and fundamental for safeguarding personal liberty  in all  legal  systems  where the Rule of  Law  prevails.   For example, the 6th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States  of America contains similar provisions and  so  does Art.   XXXIV  of  the Japanese  Constitution  of  1946.   In England  whenever an arrest is made without a  warrant,  the arrested person has a right to be informed not only that  he is being arrested but also of the reasons or grounds for the arrest.   The  House  of  Lords in  Christie  &  Another  v. Leachinsky(1)  went into the origin and development of  this rule.   In  the words of Viscount Simon if a  policeman  who entertained  a reasonable suspicion that X had  committed  a felony were at liberty to arrest him and march him off to  a police station without giving any explanation of why he  was doing this, the prima facie right of personal liberty  would be  gravely  infringed.  Viscount Simon  laid  down  several proposi- (1)  [1947] 1 AII E.L.R.567. 162 tions  which  were  not meant to  be  exhaustive.   For  our purposes we may refer to the first and the third :               "1.  If  a policeman arrests  without  warrant               upon  reasonable  suspicion of felony,  or  of               other crime of a sort which does not require a               warrant,  he  must in  ordinary  circumstances               inform the person arrested of the true  ground               of  arrest.   He is not entitled to  keep  the               reason to himself or to give a reason which is               not  the  true  reason.  in  other  words,   a               ’citizen is entitled to know on what charge or

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             on suspicion of what crime he is seized.               2.............................               3.    The requirement that the person arrested               should  be  informed of the reason why  he  is               seized   naturally  does  not  exist  if   the               circumstances  are such that he must know  the               general  nature  of the  alleged  offence  for               which he is detained."               Lord  Simonds  gave  an  illustration  of  the               circumstances where the accused must know  why               he is being arrested:               "There  is no need to explain the  reasons  of               arrest  if  the arrested man  is  caught  red-               handed  and  the  crime  is  patent  to   high               Heaven." The  two requirements of clause (1) of Art. 22 are meant  to afford  the earliest opportunity to the arrested  person  to remove  any mistake, misapprehension or misunderstanding  in the  minds  of the arresting authority and,  also,  to  know exactly  what the accusation against him is so that he  can- exercise  the  second right, namely, of consulting  a  legal practitioner  of  his  choice and to  be  defended  by  him. Clause  (2) of Art. 22 provides ’the next and most  material safeguard that the arrested person must be produced before a Magistrate  within  24  hours  of such  arrest  so  that  an independent authority exercising judicial powers may without delay  apply its mind to his case.  The  Criminal  Procedure Code contains analogous provisions in ss. 60 and 340 but our Constitution makers were anxious to make these safeguards an integral  part of fundamental rights.  That is what  Dr.  B. -R.   Ambedkar said while moving, for insertion of Art.  15A (as  numbered in the draft Bill of the  Constitution)  which corresponded to present Art. 22 :               "Article 15A merely lifts from the  provisions               of the Criminal Procedure Code two of the most               fundamental  principles which every  civilised               country follows as principles of international               justice.   It  is quite true  that  these  two               provisions contained in clause 1) and clause                                    163               (2)are  already  to be found in  the  Criminal               Procedure  Code and thereby probably it  might               be said that we are really not making any very               fundamental change.  But we are, as I contend,               making  a fundamental change because  what  we               are  doing by the introduction of Article  15A               is to put a limitation upon the authority both               of  Parliament  as well as of  the  Provincial               Legislature   not   to  abrogate   these   two               provisions, because they are now introduced in               our Constitution itself." As stated in Ram Narayan Singh v. State of Delhi & Ors. this Court  has often reiterated that those who feel called  upon to deprive other persons of liberty in the discharge of what they   conceive  to  be  their  duty  must,   strictly   and scrupulously, observe the forms and rules of law.   Whenever that is not done the petitioner would be entitled to a  writ of Habeas Corpus directing his release. It  remains  to be seen whether any proper  cause  has  been shown in the return for declining the prayer of Madhu Limaye and other arrested persons for releasing them on the  ground that  there was non-compliance-with the provisions  of  Art. 22(1)  of the Constitution.  In Ram Narayan Singh’s  case(1) it  was  laid down that the Court must have  regard  to  the legality  or otherwise of the detention at the time  of  the

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return.   In the present case the return dated November  20, 1968  was filed before the date of the first  hearing  after the  rule  nisi  had been issued.  The  return,  as  already observed, does not contain any information as to when and by whom  Madhu Limaye and other arrested persons were  informed of the grounds for their arrest.  It has not been  contended on behalf of the State that the circumstances were such that the  arrested persons must have known the general nature  of the alleged offences for which they had been arrested’, vide proposition  No. 3 in Christie & Another v. Leachinsky  (2). Nor has it been suggested that the show cause notices  which were   issued   on   November   11,   1968   satisfied   the constitutional requirement.   Madhu  Limaye and others  are, therefore, entitled to be released on this ground alone. Once it is     shown  that  the arrests made by  the  police officers  were  illegal, it was necessary for the  State  to establish  that  at  the stage  -of  remand  the  Magistrate directed  detention in jail custody after applying his  mind to  all relevant matters.  This the State has failed to  do. The  remand orders are patently routine and appear  to  have been  made  mechanically.  All that Mr. Chagla has  said  is that  if  the  arrested person  wanted  to  challenge  their legality the High Court should have been moved (1) A.I.R. 1953 S.C. 277. (2) [1947] All F.I.R. 567, 164 under  appropriate,  provisions of  the  Criminal  Procedure Code.   But  it  must be remembered that  Madhu  Limaye  and others  have,  by  moving this Court under Art.  32  of  the Constitution, complained of detention or confinement in jail without   compliance  with  the  constitutional  and   legal provisions.   If  their  detention  in  custody  could   not continue after their arrest because of the violation of Art. 22(1) of the Constitution they were entitled to be  released forthwith.  The orders of remand are not such as would  cure the constitutional infirmities.  This disposes of the  third contention of Madhu Limaye. We  have been pressed to decide the question of  mala  fides which  is  the fourth contention of Madhu  Limayes  Normally such  matters  are  not gone into by  this  Court  in  these proceedings  and can be more appropriately agitated in  such other  legal  action as he may be advised  to  institute  or take. We  would  like to make it clear that we  have  ordered  the release of Madhu Limaye and the other arrested persons  with regard  to whom rule nisi was issued on the sole  ground  of violation   of   the  provisions  of  Art.  22(1)   of   the Constitution.   We  desire  to express  no  opinion  on  the legality  or illegality of the arrests made on  November  6, 1968  of  these persons with reference to the  first  point, namely,  that the police officer purported to have  effected the  arrests  for the offences under s. 188.   Indian  Penal Code,  and  under S. 151 as also in respect  of  proceedings under s. 107 of the Cr.P.C., as these matters are subjudice. We may also proceed to add that any expression of opinion or observation in these proceedings shall not affect the course of  the enquiry or trial of the arrested persons  concerning the  occurrences  on  November 5 and 6, 1960  which  may  be pending  in  the  courts  in the State  of  Bihar  and  such proceedings shall be disposed of in accordance with law. Madhu  Limaye and other arrested persons have  already  been ordered  to  be  released  by  this  Court  and  no  further directions are necessary in the matter of their being set at liberty. G.C.                                 Petitions allowed.

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