The Rajasthan High Court held that a notice sent via WhatsApp under Section 41-A CrPC is not legally valid and cannot be treated as proper service. In this case, the petitioner was arrested despite responding to the WhatsApp notice and seeking time due to personal reasons. The Court found that the police failed to follow the mandatory procedure for issuing notice and arrest.
Relying on the Supreme Court’s rulings in Arnesh Kumar and Satender Kumar Antil, the Court emphasized that arrest must strictly comply with legal safeguards protecting personal liberty under Article 21. Since no valid notice was served, the arrest was in violation of law.
Accordingly, the Investigating Officer was held guilty of contempt of court for breaching binding Supreme Court guidelines, and the matter was listed for sentencing.