Collection of blood sample of accused without lawful arrest is illegal: Karnataka High Court

The High Court of Karnataka on Friday has ruled that blood sample of an accused in a criminal case cannot be collected without lawful arrest under Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and blood sample collected without lawful arrest is unsustainable in law.

“A lawful arrest necessitates strict compliance with statutory safeguards, including communication of the grounds of arrest, recording of reasons and adherence to all mandatory procedural requirements. Where a blood sample is produced pursuant to an illegal arrest, the resulting medical and forensic report stands vitiated and cannot be relied upon by the prosecution,” the court observed.