Section 47: Person arrested to be informed of grounds of arrest and of right to bail

Corresponding CrPC provision

As given in the correspondence table of the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs). Read both texts before relying on it. NCRB table

Leading cases

• Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana (2025)Informing an arrested person of the grounds of arrest is a mandatory requirement of Article 22(1); failure to do so vitiates the arrest and remand, and the appellant was ordered to be released forthwith.

Questions on this section

5 questions in 9 of our papers cite Section 47. Try these from the free papers:

1. 1. Where a police officer arrests without warrant any person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offence, Section 47(2) of the BNSS requires him to inform the person arrested

   A.that he may apply to the Court of Session for anticipatory bail within seven days of arrestB.that he is entitled to free legal aid from the District Legal Services AuthorityC.that he will be produced before the Sessions Judge within forty-eight hoursD.that he is entitled to be released on bail and may arrange for sureties on his behalf
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2. 2. In Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra (6 November 2025), the Supreme Court held that the requirement of communicating the grounds of arrest in writing:

   A.applies to all offences, but the written grounds may be given in English whatever language the arrestee understandsB.applies to offences under all statutes, including the BNS, and the grounds must be in a language the arrestee understandsC.applies only to arrests under special statutes, such as the PMLA, whose own text requires grounds to be given in writingD.applies only to offences punishable with seven years or more, oral communication being enough for other offences
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3. 3. In Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana (7 February 2025), the Supreme Court held that where the grounds of arrest are not communicated to an arrested person as required by Article 22(1):

   A.the arrest and the orders of remand are vitiated, but the investigation, the charge-sheet and the trial are not vitiatedB.the defect in the arrest is cured once a charge-sheet is filed within the time prescribed for completing investigationC.the investigation, the charge-sheet and the trial are all vitiated, and the accused is entitled to an acquittalD.the arrest is only irregular and not illegal, so the accused may claim compensation but cannot claim release
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