Right To Life Cannot Be Denied To Suspect, Obligation Of State & Courts To Ensure It Is Not Violated: Bombay High Court

The guarantee of 'right to life and liberty' cannot be denied to a suspect who is sought to be made an accused on an investigation and it is the obligation of the State and also of the Courts to ensure that there is no infringement of this 'indefeasible' right, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court held on Friday. 

Single-judge Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, while granting bail to a woman arrested after sunset, said the police must follow the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which describes the manner and the extent to which a person can be deprived of his liberty. 

"The guarantee of 'life and liberty' as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India available to citizen of this country cannot be denied even to an accused who is in custody and surely not to a suspect who is sought to be converted to an accused on an investigation and then from an accused to a convict on trial. It is an obligation upon the State as well as on the court to ensure that there is no infringement of indefeasible right of citizen to life and liberty, which he cannot be deprived of without following the procedure established by law. The CrPC describes the manner and to the extent of what a person can be denuded of his liberty and, therefore, needs a strict compliance. Any violation of the prescribed procedure in the matter of arrest can, therefore, liable to be declared as illegal," the judge said. 

According to the prosecution case, the applicant woman, was working as the Chief Executive Officer of Babaji Date Mahila Sahakari Bank Limited in Yavatmal district. Before this position, she worked as the Clerk and Branch Manager of the said bank and during her tenure, she sanctioned several loans to the tune of Rs 1.80 crore to her husband and relatives and cause huge losses to the bank as the loans were sanctioned without following the due procedure. 

Seeking bail, the woman pointed out that she was arrested after sunset and the prosecution even failed to adhere to the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the CrPC, which mandate the police to furnish the 'grounds of arrest' in written format to the accused.

The applicant pointed out that the police, after arresting her, only informed one of her relatives about her arrest but did not furnish the grounds of arrest. 

Justice Joshi-Phalke noted that the purpose of inserting Section 50A of the CrPC making it obligatory on the person making arrest to inform about the arrest to the friends, relatives or persons nominated by the arrested person, is to ensure that they would able to take immediate and prompt actions to secure the release of the arrested person as permissible under the law.

"The arrested person, because of his detention, may not have immediate and easy access to the legal process for securing his release, which would otherwise be available to the friends and relatives. In view of Article 22(1) of the Constitution, such arrest may be rendered illegal," the bench said. 

The bench further added, "From the record, it reveals that the arrest of the present applicant is after sunset, which is illegal. The grounds of arrest are also not communicated to the friends/relatives of the applicant and, therefore, such arrest, is illegal. In the light of the above facts and circumstances, the applicant has made out a case for grant of bail."

With these observations, the judge, granted bail to the accused. 

Appearance:

Senior Advocate SV Manohar along with Advocate Atharva Manohar appeared for the Applicant.

Senior Advocate and Public Prosecutor DV Chauhan assisted by Additional Public Prosecutor Anant Ghongre represented the State.

Case Title: Sujata Vilas Mahajan vs State of Maharashtra [Criminal Application (BA) 372 of 2025]

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