No Bar On Re-Arrest Of Accused After Procedural Defects Of Prior 'Illegal Arrest' Are Cured: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that there is no statutory or judicial bar on re-arrest of an accused after curing the procedural defects of a prior illegal arrest.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that a lapse or omission on the part of the investigating agency, whether inadvertent or deliberate, cannot result in a blanket immunity to the accused against any future arrest in the same case.

“To hold otherwise would amount to laying down a precedent which, in the long run, may prove perilous to the administration of criminal justice. It would essentially mean that a serious offender may escape the process of law solely on account of a procedural lapse committed by the investigating agency, even if sufficient material exists justifying his arrest,” the Court said.

“Should the procedural lapse committed by one officer, however serious, be allowed to permanently shield the accused from arrest, even after the defect has been remedied? The answer, in this Court‟s view, must be in the negative,” it added.

Justice Sharma rejected a plea filed by various accused persons challenging their arrest in an Arms Act case being probed by Delhi Police's Special Cell. They also challenged trial court order which upheld the legality of their re-arrest.

It was their case that their re-arrest, after their earlier arrest in the same FIR which was held to be non-est in the eyes of law by the trial court on the ground of non-supply of grounds of arrest, cannot be sustained in view of fresh material and compliance with procedural safeguards.

Dismissing the plea, the Court said that at the time of the re-arrest of the accused persons, detailed grounds of arrest were furnished to each of them, which specifically outline their alleged roles in the organised crime syndicate.

“Therefore, at the time of re-arrest, the mandatory requirements of law, as interpreted by the Hon‟ble Supreme Court, were prima facie complied with. Thus, this Court is of the considered view that the defect which had vitiated the initial arrest was not repeated during the re-arrest, and the requirement of informing the accused of the grounds of arrest in writing was duly fulfilled,” the Court said.

Further, it observed that the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as well as the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, does not contain any provision that either expressly prohibits or bars re-arrest of an individual in such circumstances.

“Moreover, to accept the proposition advanced by the petitioners would be to grant complete immunity to an accused from any future arrest, even in cases involving serious offences, merely because the initial arrest was vitiated by a procedural lapse, however, sufficient incriminating material is found against him, qua the same offence, later,” the Court said.

Title: ANWAR KHAN @ CHACHA & ORS v. THE STATE NCT OF DELHI

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