The Supreme Court held that the 24-hour deadline to bring an arrested person before a magistrate begins when investigators take the person into custody and restrict their freedom. Time spent in custody during a search counts even if officers record the formal arrest later.
Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S. Chandurkar delivered the ruling on 5 November 2026 in Sujit Das v. Union of India (2026 INSC 1195). The bench set aside the Tripura High Court’s refusal of bail to three appellants in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
When does the 24-hour rule under Article 22(2) begin?
The relevant time is when the person actually comes under the investigating officers’ control and loses the freedom to leave. Article 22(2) requires production before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours, excluding the time needed to travel from the place of arrest to the magistrate’s court. Time spent completing search, seizure or arrest paperwork while the person remains in custody counts towards that limit.
Why the Court found the detention unlawful
Customs officers intercepted the appellants at about 2 pm on 29 September 2025 in Tripura. The Supreme Court found that they were under the search team’s control from that point. The search ended at about 5 pm at the Customs Division office in Agartala. Officers recorded the formal arrests at 11 am and 11:15 am the following morning.
The appellants appeared before a judicial magistrate at 4:45 pm on 30 September, two hours and 45 minutes after the deadline the Court calculated from the interception. The bench also found that investigators had given no explanation for the roughly 18 hours between the end of the search and the formal arrests. It held that this period was unreasonable under Section 58 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
What magistrates must check before ordering remand
At the first appearance, the magistrate must record when detention actually began and check whether the authorities met the 24-hour deadline. The Court said the detainee must be released if the deadline was breached. Even when authorities meet the deadline, the magistrate must consider whether the time spent in custody was reasonable and may refuse remand if it was excessive.
In this case, the Supreme Court directed that the three appellants be brought before the jurisdictional Special Court within seven days of the judgment and released on bail on terms set by that court.