Article 22(2) states that every arrested person must be produced in front of magistrate within 24 hours deducting travel period. This is called “First Production”.
As per Project 39A Report, around 54 lake people were arrested in India in 2022 alone as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
No Standard Format of Arrest Memo :
According to the report, there is no standard format for an arrest memo in which there is no column for age and various categories which are required as per CRPC.
‘Arrest Memo is a document prepared by police at the the time of arrest and it is produced in court also in front of magistrate’. Project 39A report states that there is no separate column for age of the accused even when it is important to verify the accused is adult or minor. Report, co-authored by Jinee Lokaneeta and Zeeba Sikora observed that most majistrates are attentive to and relatively more engaged with ensuring procedural compliance during first production hearing than during subsequent hearings.
It is further stated that magistrates do not recognize the non-preparation of the arrest memo at the time of the arrest as a serious violation of the accused’s constitutional rights. Recently, SC released NewsClick founder due to illegality committed at the time of arrest. In its 15th May order, apex court noted that arrest memo nowhere conveyed the grounds on which Mr. Purkayastha was arrested.
Being on the duty of constitutional safeguards, magistrates must be diligent making police authorities comply with the right procedure of producing arrest memos and intimating the accused about the reasons of arrest in written format. It might be there procedural and practical hurdles, same must be resolved with efforts and taking in conscience. A high level committed may be formed by CJI, Law Ministry and Home Ministry for reviewing the procedural lapses within different constitutional bodies.
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