The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has observed that the “right to life and liberty” guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be denied even to a suspect in a criminal investigation. The court added that it is the duty of both the State and the judiciary to ensure that this “indefeasible” right is not violated.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke made the observations while granting bail to Sujata Mahajan, former CEO of Babaji Date Mahila Sahakari Bank Limited in Yavatmal, who was arrested after sunset — a move the court termed illegal.
“The guarantee of ‘life and liberty’ as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution… cannot be denied even to an accused who is in custody and surely not to a suspect who is sought to be converted to an accused on an investigation,” the judge remarked. She further stated that any violation of the prescribed procedure in the matter of arrest “can therefore be declared as illegal.”
According to the prosecution, Mahajan, who earlier served as a clerk and branch manager at the bank, sanctioned loans worth Rs 1.80 crore to her husband and relatives, causing overall losses of over Rs 242 crore by bypassing due process.
In her bail plea, Mahajan contended that she was arrested after sunset and that police failed to comply with procedural safeguards under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), including providing written grounds of arrest.
Justice Joshi-Phalke noted that under Section 50A of the CrPC, the police are obligated to inform an arrested person’s friends or relatives of the arrest, allowing them to take prompt legal steps. “In view of Article 22(1) of the Constitution, such arrest may be rendered illegal,” the judge added.
The court found that the arrest took place after sunset and that the police failed to communicate the grounds of arrest to the accused or her relatives, which made the arrest unlawful. With this, the court allowed Mahajan’s bail plea.
