24-Hour Detention Rule Starts from Actual Custody, Not Formal Arrest: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that under Article 22(2) of the Constitution, the 24-hour limit to produce an accused before a magistrate begins from the moment liberty is effectively curtailed, not when police formally record the arrest.

In a bail plea against alleged illegal detention by the NCB, the accused was taken into custody at 3 p.m.

On January 25, but formally arrested 23 hours later and produced after 29 hours.

Citing Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution, Section 43 of the BNSS, and SC rulings in D.K. Basu and Joginder Kumar, the Court warned that delayed arrest and recording risks human rights violations and granted bail.