Archive · 1 Oct 2026
Allahabad HC Says Detention Starts 24-Hour Magistrate Deadline
The Constitution says an arrested person must be taken to a magistrate within 24 hours.
The Allahabad High Court said this clock starts when someone is actually stopped and their freedom is restricted.
It does not start only when officials write down the arrest in a formal document.
Two men were taken into custody after their car collided with a police vehicle.
Officials later found about 10 kilograms of gold in the car.
Customs prepared their arrest document more than a day after they were first held.
The court decided that their rights had been violated.
It ordered their release and told them to approach the trial court for bail-related relief.
The Allahabad High Court ruled that the 24-hour deadline begins when a person is actually detained.
The ruling came in a gold seizure case involving two men initially taken into custody after a car crash.
Police reportedly took the men into custody around 5:45 a.m. on August 22 in Kannauj.
Customs officials prepared the formal arrest memo at 6:38 p.m. on August 23, before production on August 24.
The court quashed the remand order, ordered immediate release, and directed the men to seek bail as legally permissible.
- Who
- The Allahabad High Court, Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, and two petitioners including Sandeep Jaiswal.
- What
- The court ruled that the 24-hour period for producing an arrested person before a magistrate begins with actual detention, not the formal arrest memo.
- When
- Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on September 28; the report was published October 1.
- Where
- The ruling was issued by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court in a case arising from Kannauj.
- Why
- The court found that the petitioners’ constitutional right under Article 22(2) had been violated because they were produced beyond the applicable 24-hour period.
- Court
- Allahabad High Court, Lucknow bench
- Judge
- Justice Subhash Vidyarthi
- Initial custody
- Around 5:45 a.m. on August 22
- Formal arrest memo
- Prepared by customs at 6:38 p.m. on August 23
- Court production
- The petitioners were produced before a magistrate on August 24
- Case subject
- A seizure involving around 10 kilograms of gold
- Outcome
- Remand order quashed and immediate release directed