Mumbai — A Mumbai court has ordered the release of a Delhi-based man arrested in connection with the alleged circulation of objectionable morphed photographs of actor Sonakshi Sinha on social media, after finding procedural lapses in his arrest and transfer from Delhi, Zee News reported, citing an India Today report.

Source: Zee News (citing India Today)

Following Sinha's complaint, the Bandra Police registered a case — on November 13, according to the Daily Jagran — and apprehended the accused, Aryan Deepak Jain, on November 14 at around 10:11 am from the Jagatpuri Police Station limits in Delhi's Shahdara area. He was flown to Mumbai and produced before a Bandra magistrate, where police sought three days' custody to trace the electronic device allegedly used to create and circulate the photographs.

What the court found

The magistrate observed that Jain had been brought directly before the Bandra court without being produced before the nearest magistrate in Delhi. Examining the arrest safeguards under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the court noted that the investigating officer was required to comply with Section 35(1)(b), including recording the reasons showing the necessity of arrest, and that the record did not disclose satisfactory compliance. The Daily Jagran reported that the court declared the arrest illegal and ordered his release, rejecting the custody plea.

Source: The Daily Jagran

Jain's lawyers, Aman Shahi, Prashant Trivedi and Aditya Jain, had challenged the legality of the arrest, contending that he had not received the mandatory notice or been properly informed of the grounds of arrest and that the provisions invoked against him were inapplicable — arguments the defence maintained while denying any offence by their client. These are the defence's contentions, reported as such.

The release does not close the case. It is not an acquittal and does not decide whether Jain was responsible for the alleged circulation of the morphed photographs; the Bandra Police investigation into Sinha's complaint is continuing, Ei Samay and other outlets reported.

Source: Ei Samay