Delhi court flagged Delhi Police arrest of Mukesh from Darbhanga without transit remand. Judicial Magistrate Apoorv Bhardwaj said it bypassed safeguards, “tweaking the law” against guidelines on inter-state arrests.
A court in Delhi has expressed deep concern about the way Delhi Police arrested a murder suspect from Bihar without first obtaining a transit remand. The court said the process appeared to have bypassed established legal safeguards.
Judicial Magistrate Apoorv Bhardwaj made these observations while hearing a police application seeking two days of custody remand for the accused, Mukesh, who was apprehended in Darbhanga, Bihar, along with another accused, Anil, in connection with a murder case.
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The judicial magistrate said,
“I am deeply shocked at the procedure adopted by the investigating agency. Seems that the accused was apprehended in Bihar and his arrest was delayed till he was brought to Delhi only to circumvent the procedure of obtaining transit remand,”
The matter stems from the alleged murder of a man after a dispute on April 26. The prosecution’s case also alleges that the accused were involved in attempts to conceal evidence connected to the offence. During the hearing, the court examined the legality of the arrest procedure followed by the investigating agency.
Noting the circumstances, the court questioned why Mukesh was not formally arrested in Bihar and why the required step of obtaining transit remand from a local magistrate was not carried out before bringing him to Delhi. It directed the investigating officer to submit an explanation through the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police.
The court said,
“Prima facie this conduct only amounts to tweaking the law to suit the investigating agency’s convenience. The Hon’ble High Court of Delhi has laid down comprehensive guidelines to be followed in the inter-state ,”
The court further observed that such procedural shortcomings undermine due process and are contrary to protections meant to safeguard the rights of accused persons in inter-state arrests. It emphasized that following legal procedure is not discretionary but compulsory.
As far as custody was concerned, Mukesh was remanded to judicial custody for one day. However, the police’s request for custodial interrogation mainly for the recovery of the alleged weapon remained pending before the court.
Regarding co-accused Anil, who was represented by advocate Pardeep Khatri, the court noted that the offences cited against him were bailable. It also found that there was no material indicating his direct involvement in the alleged murder.
The court said,
“The arrest of accused Anil is prima facie found to be illegal. His further custody is not justified. Accused Anil be released in this case,”
The court also recorded that, based on the case record, Anil was not present at the scene of the incident and had only played a role by suggesting that the injured person be taken to the hospital. On these findings, it ordered his immediate release, stressing the need for lawful arrest and proportionality in criminal proceedings.
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