The Allahabad High Court directed Lucknow's judicial institute to create remand scrutiny modules for magistrates. The order reinforces that workload cannot excuse lapses affecting arrested persons' constitutional liberties.
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Prayagraj,Oct 19, 2026 23:10 IST
The Allahabad High Court has directed the Judicial Training and Research Institute in Lucknow to prepare and circulate training modules for judicial magistrates amid repeated instances of remand applications not being properly examined, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The court said magistrates cannot cite a heavy workload while handling remand proceedings, as these directly concern the fundamental rights to life and personal liberty and the rights of arrested persons under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution.
A remand order allows an accused person to be kept in a police lock-up for questioning or sent to jail under judicial custody.
A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev warned that the high court would take serious note of any such failure by magistrates to perform their duty in future and could recommend administrative action.
The observations came while the court allowed a habeas corpus petition filed by Kushinagar resident Arvind Pandey, who had challenged his custody in a cyber fraud case. According to PTI, the court ordered his release after finding that his arrest memo lacked important details.
During the hearing, the court had sought an explanation from the Kushinagar district judge over the remand granted to Pandey despite the deficiencies in the arrest memo.
In his explanation dated October 3, the magistrate admitted his error and sought the court's pardon. He said he had not examined the police remand application with the required care because of a heavy judicial workload, particularly bail applications.
The court observed that the magistrate had treated the police remand application as a formality and handled it routinely. It said the habeas corpus petition would not have been necessary had the magistrate been vigilant.
The high court consequently ordered training modules for magistrates, stressing the need for careful scrutiny of remand applications and warning that similar lapses could lead to administrative action.
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