The Allahabad High Court on February 5, 2026, ordered the immediate release of Abhay Kumar, holding that his arrest and remand were illegal because the police failed to follow mandatory arrest safeguards. The case came up in a habeas corpus petition, where the court closely examined how the arrest was made.
Abhay Kumar moved the High Court saying he was kept in custody without proper legal procedure. His lawyers argued that the police did not comply with Clause 13 of the arrest memo, a safeguard meant to inform the arrested person about key rights and details.
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They relied on a recent High Court ruling in Umang Rastogi and also referred to Supreme Court directions in Mihir Rajesh vs State of Maharashtra. The State filed a counter affidavit through the investigating officer.
Court’s Observation
After hearing both sides, the division bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay found that the case was “covered” by the earlier ruling. The judges noted that Clause 13 of the arrest memo had not been followed and the document was not supplied to the petitioner before arrest.
“We find that the facts of this case are covered… by violation of Clause 13 of memo of arrest,” the bench observed.
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Decision
Because the arrest itself was flawed, the court held the detention to be illegal. It directed the authorities to release Abhay Kumar “forthwith” and asked the State’s lawyer to communicate the order immediately, without waiting for a certified copy.
The habeas corpus petition was allowed.
Case Title: Abhay Kumar vs State of U.P. and Another
Case Number: Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No. 100 of 2026
Date of Decision: 5 February 2026
