The Supreme Court said it would re-examine whether failure to provide reasons for arrest would result in bail or release of the accused in all cases. The court’s decision came during the hearing of plea filed by Mihir Shahthe main accused in the high-profile BMW hit-and-run case at Worli in Mumbai.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan appointed an amicus curiae to address the issue related to the grounds for arrest which were not conveyed to the BMW hit-and-run accused. The court said that while it found no prima facie error in the High Court’s decision, the legal position required further examination. “We consider it appropriate to review the case to examine the legal situation,” the bench said.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had said that if the reasons for the arrest were not given in writing, then the arrest was vitiated and the accused should be released.

Earlier this month, Mihir Shah moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Bombay High Court’s rejection of his bail plea. Shah, the 24-year-old son of a former Shiv Sena leader, was arrested in July after ramming his BMW into a two-wheeler, killing a 45-year-old woman.

The Bombay High Court, while rejecting Shah’s bail plea, observed that even though the police had not provided reasons for his arrest to the accused in writing, the accused was well aware for what purpose the police arrested them. .

During the hearing at the top court on Friday, lawyers Rebecca John and Jay Bhardwaj, representing Shah, said the High Court’s observations amounted to a pre-trial conviction.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court judges said: “Needless to say, the observations made in the impugned order would not inconvenience the petitioner in any of the proceedings, including trial and bail application, and if such proceedings were abandoned, the same would be decided according to law on its own merits.”

The Supreme Court will hear Shah’s plea again on February 3, 2025.