Jaipur: A single-judge bench of Rajasthan High Court has found a former Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officer guilty of contempt of court for violating mandatory arrest procedures and infringing upon the personal liberty of an accused. The court has directed him to appear in person and listed the matter on April 6.In the order on Monday, the bench of Justice Praveer Bhatnagar said Pushpendra Singh Rathore, who was posted as Additional Superintendent of Police, ACB, in 2023, failed to comply with binding guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar. The case arose from the arrest of petitioner Ravi Meena on Feb 1, 2023, in connection with an ACB FIR under corruption charges.“We argued that the petitioner was arrested without proper notice under Section 41-A of the CrPC, which mandates prior notice before arrest in cases where immediate arrest is not necessary,” said Mohit Khandelwal, counsel for the petitioner.The court noted that the only notice issued to the petitioner was sent via WhatsApp on Jan 25, 2023, directing him to appear for investigation. During this time, the petitioner, Meena, responded promptly, seeking time due to his wife’s illness. However, the investigating agency neither replied nor issued a formal notice through legally recognised modes and finally made the arrest on Feb 1, 2023. Rejecting ACB’s justification, the court ruled that WhatsApp communication cannot be treated as valid service of notice under Section 41-A CrPC, citing Supreme Court directions in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI. Justice Bhatnagar observed that “despite the petitioner’s cooperation, no proper notice was served” and “no valid reasons for arrest were recorded”. “Even after filing the charge sheet, the necessity for arrest was not justified by the officer,” said the court.Calling the arrest a “clear breach of statutory safeguards and constitutional protections under Article 21”, the court held that the officer acted in violation of established legal procedures.“Accordingly, this court is satisfied that Pushpendra Singh Rathore has committed contempt by violating the principles laid down by Supreme Court and breached the personal liberty of the petitioner,” the court observed.
