Karnataka high court
Bengaluru: The 24-hour period within which an arrested person must be produced before a magistrate begins from the time the person’s liberty is curtailed or they are detained, and not from the time of arrest recorded in police documents, Karnataka high court has held. Article 22(2) of the Constitution mandates that an arrested and detained person be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, excluding the time taken for the journey from the place of arrest to the court. The provision has two exceptions under Article 22(3): arrests involving enemy aliens and those made under laws providing for preventive detention. Naveen, a resident of Masuvalli village in Hassan, surrendered before Aldur police in Chikkamagaluru district at 11am on Oct 14, 2025, following a complaint by his mother-in-law Shubha. However, examining the case diary, Justice Shetty found no explanation for why Naveen was not interrogated immediately after surrendering or why police recorded his arrest only at 9.45pm. The court held that he had not been produced before the magistrate within 24 hours of the time he was detained. Naveen’s bail plea had earlier been rejected by the trial court on April 9, 2026.
Consequently, his detention was illegal and the arrest stood vitiated, the judge observed while allowing his bail petition.
She had accused him and two others of offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Dowry Prohibition Act following the death of her daughter Nethravathi a couple of days earlier.
Justice S Vishwajit Shetty made the observation while granting bail to Naveen , an accused in a case registered following the death of his wife.