Telangana high court sets aside remand order for violating 24-hour norm

Hyderabad: Justice N Tukaramji of Telangana high court on Tuesday set aside the judicial remand of a man arrested by the Malakpet police in a case, holding that he was produced before the magistrate beyond the mandatory 24-hour limit prescribed under the Criminal Procedure Code (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, BNSS).The judge pronounced the order while allowing the criminal revision case filed by Syed Dastagir, a student-cum-Rapido captain from Edi Bazar in Hyderabad. The judge ruled that the VII additional chief judicial magistrate, Hyderabad, had mechanically authorized the custody of the petitioner — arrayed as accused number 8 in FIR No. 252 of 2025 — without examining procedural lapses and statutory safeguards.The petitioner was arrested from his residence at 10:15pm on July 7 and produced before court at 11:35pm the next day, exceeding the 24-hour limit by about 80 minutes. The delay, the court held, rendered the remand illegal in terms of Sections 57 and 167 of the CrPC (BNSS).The court noted that the alleged offences under Sections 318(4) and 204 read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, were punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years. Citing the Supreme Court's ruling in Arnesh Kumar Vs State of Bihar and provisions of Section 35(3) BNSS, the judge said police ought to have issued a notice of appearance instead of arresting the petitioner.Justice Tukaramji observed that the magistrate's order failed to record judicial reasons addressing the legality of the arrest, the delay in production, or compliance with statutory requirements — amounting to non-application of mind.Setting aside the July 8 remand order, Justice Tukaramji directed the magistrate to secure the petitioner's immediate release. Within a week of release, he must execute a personal bond of 10,000 with two sureties for a like sum. The petitioner was directed to cooperate with further proceedings, failing which coercive steps could be taken.