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3. Heard learned counsel for the parties. The main plank of this petition is non-compliance of Section 46 of the Code of Criminal LSP 3 1 wpst 23969.24.doc Procedure, 1973. According to the petitioner, she being a woman, she could not have been arrested after sunset. In this particular case that is what has exactly happened and, therefore, her arrest becomes illegal. Briefly stated, the facts are as follows:

At the first instance C.R.No.396/2024 was registered at Karmala Police Station on 20 June 2024 under Sections 420,467,468,471 read with Section 34 of IPC. The FIR was lodged by one Anil Ramesh Pawar. The gist of the FIR was that between 1 st January 24 to 20th April 2024, the accused Shri Palvinder Singh and one Payal madam (according to the prosecution case, petitioner is Payal madam) in collusion with each other represented that they were partners of M/s. Srimma Farm Animal Bazaar Private Limited. They induced the first informant and five others to invest in their company. They represented that they were investing the in the share market and the informant and others would get 50% of the monthly returns on their investment. In other words, within two months the investors like the informant and others would get double the amount of their investment. On this representation, they accepted Rs.10,50,000/- from the first informant and five others. Ultimately, it was found to be a fraudulent representation. The informant and others lost their money.

4. On this ground FIR was lodged. The investigation commenced and the petitioner was arrested in this connection on 9 August 2024 from Mohali. She was produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate LSP 4 1 wpst 23969.24.doc after initially obtaining transit remand from Mohali.

5. The petitioner applied for bail in connection with said offence. The learned JMFC, Karmala vide his order dated 19 August 2024 granted bail to her on the condition of executing P.R. Bond for Rs.50,000/- with one surety.

7. The present petition is in respect of the arrest effected by the officers of Tembhurni police station in connection with their C.R.No.532/2024. According to the petitioner, after completing the formalities she stepped out of Karmala sub jail on 10 September 2024 in the evening and she was immediately arrested. The contention of the petitioner is that she was arrested after the sunset. The petitioner is shown as the accused No.5 in that offence. The remand report dated 10 September 2024 mentions that once the LSP 5 1 wpst 23969.24.doc petitioner was released on bail in the earlier offence, she was taken in custody in the evening on 10 September 2024 but since she could not have been arrested after the sunset; woman PSI-Swati Survase arrested her at 12.37 a.m. in the midnight on 11 September 2024 on obtaining prior permission of the learned Magistrate. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was taken in the custody and kept under detention after she stepped out of Karmala sub jail. That was done after the sunset when there is express bar under section 46(4) of the Cr.P.C.. He, therefore, submitted that her detention becomes illegal. He relied on the provisions of Cr.P.C. to that effect and also on a Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Kavita Manikikar vs. CBI, State of Maharashtra1. He submitted that since the petitioner's detention is illegal, she has to be released.

8. The learned APP opposes this submission. She relied on the affidavit filed by the PSI-Kuldip Vijay Sontakke attached to Tembhurni police station. It is mentioned in the affidavit that petitioner was involved in the offences registered vide C.R. No.532/2024 at Tembhurni Police Station. The allegations in the FIR are produced in the earlier part of the affidavit-in-reply. Till Paragraph-13, the affidavit refers to the investigation carried out in that connection. As far as the main issue involved in this petition is concerned, the averments are made in Paragraphs 14 and 15. It is stated in the affidavit-in-reply that the Judicial Magistrate First class LSP 6 1 wpst 23969.24.doc granted bail to the petitioner in connection with C.R. No.396/2024 of Karmala police station on 19 August 2024. After fulfillment of bail conditions, she was released from Karmala sub jail, District Solapur on 10 September 2024. When she came out of Karmala sub jail on 10 September 2024, at around 6.40 p.m., PSI-Sontakke who had filed an affidavit-in-reply and the police team including one woman Constable met the petitioner at the gate of the sub jail when her Advocate had accompanied her. They were informed about the C.R. No.532/24 of Tembhurni police station and about her involvement in the offence. It is mentioned in the affidavit-in-reply that the police requested the petitioner and her Advocate to accompany them to JMFC, Madha. It is specifically mentioned in the affidavit-in-reply that the petitioner was taken in the custody by woman police constable Pardhi in the presence of PSI Sontakke. He requested the Karmala police station to take station diary entry in respect of taking custody of the petitioner and had taken her to JMFC for permission to arrest in the night. Accordingly, station diary entry was made by Karmala police station in whose jurisdiction Karmala sub jail was situated. The affidavit-in-reply further mentions that after completing medical examination of the petitioner from Karmala Sub Hospital, Karmala, she was produced by the woman police Sub-Inspector Smt. Swati Survase attached to Tembhurni police station before the learned JMFC, Madha on 10 September 2024 at 11.00 p.m. This much time was required because the residence of JMFC, Madha was about 100 km away. It is further LSP 7 1 wpst 23969.24.doc mentioned that an application was filed before the learned JMFC requesting to grant permission to arrest the petitioner. Accordingly, learned Magistrate granted permission to arrest the petitioner. The application mentioned that there were exceptional circumstances for arresting her as she was resident of different State and she would not be available. Learned JMFC vide his order dated 10 th September 2024 passed at 11.00 p.m. observed that the application mentions that the petitioner was resident of Ghaziabad and her possibility of absconding could not be ruled out. It was submitted before learned JMFC that there were exceptional circumstances to grant the application. Accordingly, permission was granted by the learned Magistrate to arrest the petitioner after sunset and before sunrise as per Section 46 of the Cr.P.C. After this order was passed, the petitioner was put under arrest at 12.37 a.m. on 11 th September 2024. In Paragraph-25, it is mentioned that the petitioner was taken in custody at 6.40 p.m. and the sunset was at 6.45 p.m.,therefore, she was taken into custody prior to sunset. It is, therefore, contended that there was no illegality committed by the investigating agency.