{"id":6294,"date":"2025-07-13T11:34:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T11:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=6294"},"modified":"2025-07-13T11:37:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T11:37:46","slug":"written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/","title":{"rendered":"Written Grounds of Arrest and Personal Liberty; An Analysis of the Supreme Court\u2019s Ruling in Prabir Purkayastha"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Prabir_Purkayastha_v_State_NCT_of_Delhi\"><\/span>Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Case_Details\"><\/span>Case Details<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Case name:<\/strong> Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Court:<\/strong> Supreme Court of India<\/li>\n<li><strong>Date of Judgement:<\/strong> 15 May, 2024<\/li>\n<li><strong>Neutral Citation:<\/strong> 2024 INSC 414<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bench:<\/strong> Hon\u2019ble Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Brief_Facts\"><\/span>Brief Facts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An FIR was registered against Prabir Purkayastha, Director of PPK News Click Studio Pvt. Ltd., on 17th August 2023 under Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 22C of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (\u201cUAPA\u201d) read with Sections 153A, 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (\u201cIPC\u201d). He was arrested on 3rd October 2023. The arrest memo lacked a column for \u2018grounds of arrest\u2019. He was remanded to 7-day police custody on 4th October 2023 without being furnished the grounds of arrest.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Prabir_Purkayastha_v_State_NCT_of_Delhi\" >Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Case_Details\" >Case Details<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Brief_Facts\" >Brief Facts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Legal_Provisions_Involved\" >Legal Provisions Involved<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Issues_of_the_Case\" >Issues of the Case<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Contentions_of_the_Appellant\" >Contentions of the Appellant<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Submission_on_Behalf_of_Respondent\" >Submission on Behalf of Respondent<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#The_Judgement\" >The Judgement<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Precedents_Referred\" >Precedents Referred<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Final_Verdict\" >Final Verdict<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/written-grounds-of-arrest-personal-liberty-supreme-court-prabir-purkayastha\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>The High Court rejected his challenge, prompting a special leave petition to the Supreme Court, which was accepted.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Legal_Provisions_Involved\"><\/span>Legal Provisions Involved<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Section 19(1) of UAPA<\/li>\n<li>Sections 43A and 43B of PMLA, 2002<\/li>\n<li>Articles 21, 22(1), and 22(5) of the Constitution of India<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Issues_of_the_Case\"><\/span>Issues of the Case<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Core Issue:<\/strong> Whether failure to inform the appellant of the \u2018grounds of arrest\u2019 in writing renders the arrest and remand order illegal under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subsidiary Issues:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Whether the ratio in <em>Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India<\/em> applies?<\/li>\n<li>Are Sections 19 of PMLA and 43A\/43B of UAPA pari materia?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Contentions_of_the_Appellant\"><\/span>Contentions of the Appellant<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Copy of FIR not provided:<\/strong> Violates Articles 20, 21, and 22.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Violation of Article 22:<\/strong> Grounds of arrest were not informed either orally or in writing at the time of arrest or prior to remand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pankaj Bansal Applicable:<\/strong> Section 19(1) of PMLA is pari materia to Section 43B(1) of UAPA. As per <em>Ram Kishor Arora v. Directorate of Enforcement<\/em>, the Pankaj Bansal judgment has prospective application.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Submission_on_Behalf_of_Respondent\"><\/span>Submission on Behalf of Respondent<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pankaj Bansal Not Applicable:<\/strong> Judgment was published after the remand order.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No mandate under Articles 22(1) and 22(5):<\/strong> No written communication required.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compliance with Article 22(1):<\/strong> Right to consult legal practitioner upheld.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sections Not Pari Materia:<\/strong> Section 19 of PMLA differs from Sections 43A &amp; 43B of UAPA.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chargesheet Filed:<\/strong> Any illegality\/irregularity stands cured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Judgement\"><\/span>The Judgement<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Applicability of Pankaj Bansal:<\/strong> The court upheld its applicability and emphasized furnishing written grounds of arrest as mandatory.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two Reasons for Written Communication:<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>To avoid disputes regarding oral communication.<\/li>\n<li>To enable legal consultation and prepare for bail.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sections are Pari Passu:<\/strong> No substantial difference between Section 19 of PMLA and Sections 43A\/43B of UAPA.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Golden Rule of Interpretation:<\/strong> Section 167 of CrPC applies to these provisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fundamental Right:<\/strong> Written communication of grounds is a constitutional and statutory mandate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chargesheet Filing Doesn\u2019t Cure Illegality:<\/strong> The filing does not validate the unconstitutional arrest and remand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Difference Between \u2018Reasons\u2019 and \u2018Grounds\u2019 of Arrest:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Reasons are general and formal (e.g. preventing further crime).<\/li>\n<li>Grounds are case-specific and essential for defence and bail.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Precedents_Referred\"><\/span>Precedents Referred<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Roy V.D. v. State of Kerala:<\/strong> Fundamental rights violations must be strictly dealt with.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Harikisan v. State of Maharashtra:<\/strong> Written grounds in a language understood by the accused are mandatory under Article 22(5).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lallubhai Jogibhai Patel v. Union of India:<\/strong> Reinforced the need to provide written grounds of arrest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Verdict\"><\/span>Final Verdict<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cOn the basis of facts proved, arguments given and precedents cited the court held that the arrest of the appellant followed by remand order dated 4th October, 2023 and so also the impugned order passed by the High Court of Delhi dated 13th October, 2023 are hereby declared to be invalid in the eyes of law and are quashed and set aside.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This judgment reinforces the constitutional principle that furnishing written grounds of arrest is a rule, not an exception. It distinguishes between general \u2018reasons\u2019 and case-specific \u2018grounds\u2019 of arrest, and affirms the need for strict adherence to constitutional safeguards protecting individual liberty.<\/p>\n<p><b>End-Notes: <\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Supreme Court of India, <i>Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi)<\/i>, Judgement dated 15 May, 2024, available at: https:\/\/www.verdictum.in\/court-updates\/supreme-court\/prabir-purkayastha-v-state-nct-of-delhi-2024-insc-414-grounds-of-arrest-in-writing-fundamental-right-1535608 (Last visited on June 12, 2025)<\/li>\n<li>Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002<\/li>\n<li>Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, \u00a7\u00a7 43A, 43B.<\/li>\n<li>Constitution of India, arts. 21, 22(1), 22(5).<\/li>\n<li>Supra note 1<\/li>\n<li>Constitution of India, art. 22.<\/li>\n<li>Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, \u00a7 50.<\/li>\n<li><i>Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India<\/i>, 2023 SCC Online SC 1244<\/li>\n<li>Section 43B(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967<\/li>\n<li><i>Ram Kishor Arora v. Directorate of Enforcement<\/i>, 2023 SCC Online SC 1682<\/li>\n<li>Supra note 1<\/li>\n<li><i>Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India<\/i>, 2023 SCC Online SC 1244.<\/li>\n<li>Constitution of India, Article 22(1).<\/li>\n<li>Constitution of India, Article 22(5).<\/li>\n<li>Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, \u00a7 19.<\/li>\n<li>Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, \u00a7 19<\/li>\n<li>Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, \u00a7\u00a7 43A &amp; 43B<\/li>\n<li>Supra note 3<\/li>\n<li>Supreme Court of India, <i>Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi)<\/i>, Judgement dated 15 May, 2024, para 36, available at: https:\/\/www.verdictum.in\/court-updates\/supreme-court\/prabir-purkayastha-v-state-nct-of-delhi-2024-insc-414-grounds-of-arrest-in-writing-fundamental-right-1535608 (Last visited on June 12, 2025)<\/li>\n<li>Ibid, para 37<\/li>\n<li>Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, \u00a7 167; UAPA, \u00a7 19; PMLA, \u00a7\u00a7 43A, 43B.<\/li>\n<li>Supra note 1<\/li>\n<li>Ibid<\/li>\n<li><i>Roy V. D. v. State of Kerala<\/i>, (2000) SCC Online SC 556 (Decided Nov. 10, 2000).<\/li>\n<li><i>Harikisan v. State of Maharashtra<\/i>, AIR 1962 SC 911.<\/li>\n<li><i>Lallubhai Jogibhai Patel v. Union of India<\/i>, (1981) 2 SCC 427; AIR 1981 SC 728.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi) Case Details Case name: Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi) Court: Supreme Court of India Date of Judgement: 15 May, 2024 Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 414 Bench: Hon\u2019ble Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta Brief Facts An FIR was registered against Prabir Purkayastha, Director of PPK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"two_page_speed":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[24],"class_list":{"0":"post-6294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-constitutional-law","7":"tag-just-in"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}