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Supreme Court of India· 21 September 2026

Do decisions permitting re-arrest after default bail apply where Article 22(1) and (2) are breached at the threshold of arrest?

JASKARAN JEET SINGH DEOL v. STATE OF PUNJAB
2026 INSC 1022 · CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 4234 OF 2026
Coram: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan · Justice Atul S. Chandurkar
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Answer

Decisions permitting re-arrest after default bail do not apply where Article 22(1) and (2) are breached at the threshold of arrest.

No. Sanjay Dutt and Rakesh Kumar Paul dealt with default bail on failure to file the chargesheet within the statutory period, where re-arrest is permitted. Here the Court was dealing with the violation of both the statutory and the fundamental rights under clauses (1) and (2) of Article 22, both infringements being at the threshold of arrest, unlike a case of default bail.

Headnote

Constitution of India — Art.22(1) — Art.22(2) — Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — ss.50, 57 — Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — ss.47, 58 — Re-Arrest — Grounds Of Arrest In Writing — Judicial Imprimatur — Compensation — Constitution of India — Art.22(1) — Written Grounds Of Arrest — Breach Vitiates Arrest — Held: Under Article 22(1), the grounds of arrest must be furnished to the accused in writing, in a language he understands, as a matter of course. Breach vitiates the arrest, no question of prejudice arises, and release is not on bail. (¶23) Constitution of India — Art.22(1) — Re-Arrest After Release — Judicial Imprimatur — Held further: After release for breach of Article 22(1), re-arrest cannot be left to the discretion of the police who violated it. The investigating agency must apply to the Magistrate for custody, with reasons, after furnishing the grounds, with the superior's endorsement. (¶24, 25) Constitution of India — Art.22(2) — Production Within Twenty-Four Hours — Compensation — Held further: The same procedure applies where Article 22(2) is breached, and the High Court may direct payment of compensation as a public law remedy, with liberty to avail the private civil law remedy. (¶36) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — Default Bail — Re-Arrest Does Not Apply — Held further: Decisions permitting re-arrest after default bail do not apply, as both infringements here were at the threshold of arrest. Appeal allowed; High Court order quashed. (¶34, 35, 38)

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In the Court's own words
Paragraph 34We are unable to concur with the reliance placed by the learned Additional Advocate General for the State of Punjab on the decisions of this Court in Sanjay Dutt and Rakesh Kumar Paul. Reliance placed on the above two judgments is misplaced because those two decisions dealt with cases of default bail. In Sanjay Dutt, the Constitution Bench made it clear that an indefeasible right accrues to the accused in the event of non-filing of chargesheet within the statutory period of 60 days or 90 days or 180 days, as the case may be, and is enforceable only prior to filing of the chargesheet; it does not survive or remain enforceable thereafter, if already not availed of. In other words, the Constitution Bench took the view that the indefeasible right of default bail continues till the chargesheet or challan is filed and it gets extinguished thereafter. In the case of Rakesh Kumar Paul, the chargesheet was not filed within the period of 60 days. In the above factual backdrop, this Court held that accused Rakesh Kumar Paul was entitled to the grant of default bail but that would not prohibit or otherwise prevent the arrest or re-arrest of the petitioner-accused on cogent grounds in respect of the subject charge. Of course, upon arrest or re-arrest, the petitioner-accused would be entitled to petition for grant of regular bail which application should be considered on its own merit.
Paragraph 35There is a fundamental difference to the proposition of law laid down in those two cases and the present one. In the former, the question for consideration was whether upon grant of default bail for failure to file the chargesheet within the statutory period, can an accused be arrested or re-arrested again? The view of this Court is in the affirmative. In the present case, we are dealing not only with the violation of statutory rights of the appellant but also his fundamental rights under clauses (1) and (2) of Article 22; both infringements being at the threshold of arrest, unlike in a case of default bail.
Acts & Sections
Art.22(1) Constitution of IndiaArt.22(2) Constitution of Indias.50 Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s.57 Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s.47 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023s.58 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

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Also decided in this judgment
Does re-arrest of an accused released for breach of Article 22(1) require the Magistrate's permission?Does non-supply of written grounds of arrest amount to a breach of Article 22(1) that vitiates it without demonstrable prejudice?Does the re-arrest procedure apply also where Article 22(2) is breached by detention beyond twenty-four hours?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections