The Supreme Court, in a significant verdict on Thursday, held that arrested persons must be furnished with the grounds of arrest in writing in a language they understand, irrespective of the nature of the offence or statute involved.

The Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih held that the grounds of arrest must be “supplied in writing within a reasonable time, and in any case two hours prior to the production of the arrestee before the Magistrate for remand proceedings”.

“Mere communication of the grounds in a language not understood by the person arrested does not fulfil the Constitutional mandate under Article 22 of the Constitution of India. The failure to supply such grounds in a language understood by the arrestee renders the Constitutional safeguards illusory an

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