New SC Arrest Safeguards Won’t Apply to Past Cases: Cal HC

Soumyadip Mullick, MP, 29 Dec 2025, KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court has ruled that the new arrest safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court in November 2025 apply only to future cases and cannot be used to seek automatic bail for arrests made prior to the ruling.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh dismissed a bail application filed by a man arrested on June 24, 2025, in connection with a police case from Kandi, Murshidabad. The petitioner had been arrested under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kandi, who remanded him to custody. The petitioner’s challenge was that the police failed to supply him with the grounds of arrest at the time of arrest or within a reasonable period thereafter, which he argued violated Article 22 of the Constitution and Section 47 of the BNSS, 2023, thus rendering the arrest and remand illegal and entitling him to immediate release without examining the merits.

The prosecution, however, pointed out that the records reflected the reasons for arrest, including the alleged recovery of counterfeit currency notes from the petitioner. It also argued that the Supreme Court's clarification on the manner of communicating arrest grounds operates prospectively and does not apply to arrests made prior to the ruling.

Justice Ghosh referred to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra, which held that arrest grounds must be clearly communicated—normally in writing, in a language understood by the accused, and within a reasonable time. If initially conveyed orally, the reasons must be provided in writing before remand, failing which the arrest and remand would be deemed illegal.

Justice Ghosh observed that the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the clarified procedure would apply “henceforth,” meaning it would apply only to future cases. The High Court, therefore, held that the new guidelines could not be applied retrospectively to invalidate arrests made before the ruling.