Arrest of fraud case accused from Kolkata ruled as illegal due to delay in production in court
Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) In an embarrassment for Mumbai police, a court here recently denied custody of a fraud case accused held from Kolkata and sent him back to a prison in the West Bengal capital after citing that he was produced before it beyond the 24-hour limit.
The delay rendered the arrest and production illegal, the court held.
Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had taken custody of businessman Shaileshkumar Pandey from a Kolkata prison where he was lodged in connection with another case.
He was brought to Mumbai on a transit remand and produced before special Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) judge N G Shukla last week.
As per police, Pandey, along with other accused, used social media to lure investors by promising them returns in the 5-15 per cent range per month. He and others are also accused of incorporating 17-18 shell companies to divert invested money.
The EOW sought his custody claiming Pandey had helped the co-accused open 200 bank accounts for collecting the invested amount and earned commission of Rs 18 to 20 crore.
The custody of the accused was required to interrogate him about disposal of the said amount, police told court.
However, special judge Shukla referred to a recent Bombay High Court judgement, which emphasizes that the time of arrest is considered to be the time when the accused is taken into physical custody, not when the arrest memo is prepared.
In this case, the accused was taken into custody on June 28, 2025, at 14:20 pm, but produced before the court on June 30, 2025, beyond the 24-hour limit, said the order, details of which were made available on Monday.
“Thus in my view, the accused is illegally arrested and produced beyond 24 hours. Hence, he cannot be further detained either in police custody,” the special court ruled and remanded Pandey to judicial custody.
The court directed the police to make arrangement for the accused to be sent to Kolkata. He later secured bail and was sent back to Presidency Correctional Home in Kolkata. PTI AVI BNM