In a crucial ruling, the Supreme Court has said that the police must communicate the grounds of arrest to a person in writing, in the language he understands, within a reasonable time, and in any case at least two hours before the arrested individual is produced for remand proceedings before the magistrate. A bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai said that this key procedural safeguard will extend to all offences and not just those under stringent special statutes like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). In giving primacy to the personal liberty of an individual, the ruling sets a welcome precedent.

While this provision has existed on paper since the enactment of penal laws, it has mostly been ignored as an incon

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