The Supreme Court deprecated the act of police officer for arresting an accused without complying with provisions under Section 41 (A), CrPC and also when the bail application was pending before the top court.

The Court frowned upon this act while considering a SLP assailing Bombay High Court's order of rejecting the petitioner's anticipatory bail.

The petitioner submitted that the Investigating Officer did not serve any notice u/s 41(A) of CrPC, 1973.

He further submitted that after noticing the fact that the petitioner had approached Top Court pre arrest bail, the IO approached the petitioner and took him into custody on March 8, 2022.

Taking into account the counsel's contention and considering that the petitioner was already in custody, the bench granted the petitioner liberty to file regular bail application.

"If such an application is filed, it is expected from the Trial Court to take note of non-compliance of Section 41(A) Cr.P.C and dispose of the application for post-arrest bail, if any, filed by the petitioners within a reasonable time as expeditiously as possible," bench noted in its order.

While disposing the SLP, the bench in its order said,

"We deprecate such practice of the Police Officer in overstepping after the matter being instituted in this Court and taking the petitioners into custody without compliance of Section 41(A) Cr.P.C. and keeping in view the judgment of this Court in Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar & Anr. (2014) 8 SCC 273."