The Kerala High Court ruled that police must give written grounds of arrest to both the accused and their relatives, not just inform them over a phone call. Failure to do so makes the arrest illegal and can lead to bail, even in serious NDPS cases.
The Kerala High Court has once again made it clear that the police must strictly follow the law while arresting a person. The Court recently ruled that if the grounds of arrest are not given in writing to the arrested person’s relatives, the arrest will be treated as illegal. Simply informing the family over a phone call is not enough.
This important observation was made by Justice Kausar Edappagath while granting bail to an accused in a drug trafficking case titled Basheer Thaliyil v State of Kerala & another.
The Court carefully examined the records and noted,
“In the instant case, the perusal of the records show that the grounds of arrest were duly communicated to the arrestee. However, the grounds of arrest were not intimated to the relative in writing. Admittedly, the relative was intimated over phone only,”
the Court noted.
Because of this failure, the Court held that the arrest itself was legally defective. It clearly stated,
“Inasmuch as the grounds of arrest were not communicated to the relatives of the applicant in writing, the arrest stands vitiated and he is entitled to be released on bail,”
the Court said.
The bail application was filed by Basheer Thaliyil, who was accused in a case involving the recovery of MDMA from a building that housed a CPM branch committee office in Malappuram district.
The case was registered by the Karipur Police Station under Sections 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Section 22(c) deals with punishment for possession of commercial quantity of drugs, while Section 29 deals with abetment and criminal conspiracy.
Thaliyil was arrested on January 23, 2026. In his bail plea, he argued that his arrest was illegal because the police did not properly communicate the grounds of arrest to his family in writing.
In its order dated February 19, the Court referred to Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, which makes it mandatory for authorities to inform a person of the grounds of arrest. The Court also referred to Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which gives an arrested person the right to know the reasons for arrest and the right to apply for bail.
The Bench further relied on important Supreme Court judgments, including Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra and Another and Kasireddy Upender Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh. These rulings make it compulsory for the police to provide written grounds of arrest not only to the arrested person but also to his family members or relatives.
The Court explained that the purpose of giving written grounds of arrest is to ensure that the arrested person and his family can immediately take legal steps for his release. This makes the constitutional protection under Article 22 meaningful and effective.
Even though the Court found that there were prima facie materials connecting the accused to the alleged drug offence, it held that the procedural lapse by the police was serious enough to make the arrest illegal. As a result, the Court granted bail to Thaliyil and directed the Jail Superintendent of the district jail at Manjeri to release him.
The accused was represented by Advocates P Mohamed Sabah, Libin Stanley, Saipooja, Sadik Ismayil, R Gayathri, M Mahin Hamza, Alwin Joseph and Benson Ambrose. Senior Public Prosecutor Sreeja V appeared for the State.
This ruling of the Kerala High Court strengthens the legal safeguards available to arrested persons in India. It clearly reinforces that police authorities must strictly follow constitutional and statutory requirements while making arrests.
Failure to provide written grounds of arrest to relatives is not a minor mistake — it can make the entire arrest illegal and lead to bail, even in serious offences under the NDPS Act.
Case Title:
Basheer Thaliyil v State of Kerala & anr
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