Under Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India, every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate:

Article 22(2) of the Constitution mandates that every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest, and that no such person shall be detained in custody beyond that period without the authority of a magistrate. The time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate is excluded from the computation. Read with the right under Article 22(1) to be informed of the grounds of arrest and to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner, this safeguard protects the individual against arbitrary and prolonged police custody. Periods of twelve, forty-eight or seventy-two hours, or a computation which includes journey time, do not reflect the constitutional rule.