Bombay High Court Quashes Arrest for Breach of 24-Hour Rule and Failure to Inform Nominated Person

Background of the Case

In Hemang Jadavji Shah v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., Writ Petition No. 2989 of 2025, the Bombay High Court was called upon to decide the legality of the arrest and subsequent detention of the petitioner, Hemang Jadavji Shah, a businessman embroiled in a family dispute that escalated into criminal allegations. The case revolved around an FIR registered late at night based on a complaint by the petitioner's brother, involving alleged offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued to prevent the petitioner from leaving India.

Sequence of Events

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Whether supplying ground of arrest to father of petitioner who had filed complaint against petitioner and was not nominated person is sufficient compliance of S 48 of BNSS?

We have perused the reports placed on record to examine the second ground, which was argued regarding the grounds of arrest not supplied as required under section 48 of BNSS. The material on record only indicates that the grounds of arrest were supplied to the petitioner. The contention raised on behalf of the investigating agency that the grounds of arrest were intimated to the petitioner's father and his lawyer is rather surprising and shocking, as there is no dispute that even the petitioner's father has filed a complaint against the present petitioner. Thus, we see no reasonable ground to support such an argument that the ground of arrest supplied to the petitioner's father would amount to sufficient compliance under section 48 of the BNSS, particularly when the petitioner's father has filed a complaint against the petitioner. No material produced on record indicates that the petitioner had ever nominated or disclosed his father's or his lawyer's name for supplying the grounds of arrest as contemplated under section 48 of the BNSS. Therefore, we find substance in the second ground raised on behalf of the petitioner that the grounds of arrest were not supplied as contemplated under section 48 of the BNSS. {Para 26}

 In the High Court of Bombay

Writ Petition No. 2989 of 2025

Hemang Jadavji Shah Vs State of Maharashtra 

(Before Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan, JJ.)

Decided on May 30, 2025

Citation: 2025 SCC OnLine Bom 2145, 2025:BHC-AS:22305-DB

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