A man arrested for allegedly circulating morphed pictures of actress Sonakshi Sinha on social media has been released after a Mumbai court declared his arrest illegal. Bandra police had sought three-day remand of accused Aryan Deepak Jain. However, the magistrate rejected the plea and ordered his release, directing the police to follow due process of law.
On the complaint of Sonakshi, a case was registered on 13 November 2026 at the Bandra Police Station in Mumbai. The actress had alleged that a person from Delhi had shared her morphed pictures on social media.
According to the details of the case, Jain was arrested on November 14 at 10.11 am from Jagatpuri police station in Shahdara, Delhi. Later he was brought to Mumbai and produced before a magistrate in Bandra court. However, before being brought to Mumbai, he was not produced in the nearest magistrate’s court in Delhi.
Taking cognizance of this, the Magistrate observed that the police appeared to have brought the accused directly from Delhi without following the mandatory legal procedure. The investigating agency also failed to give any satisfactory explanation for not producing him before the local magistrate.
During the hearing, the Bandra police sought three days’ custody, saying they needed to identify the platform or electronic device allegedly used to make obscene pictures of the actor. The police also argued that custody is necessary for further investigation.
However, Jain’s lawyers Aman Shahi, Prashant Trivedi and Aditya Jain opposed the plea. He argued that the accused was neither given a mandatory notice before his arrest nor was told about the reasons for his arrest. He also alleged that he was secretly deported from Delhi.
The defense added that Jain was not produced before a local magistrate in Delhi, as required by law. He alleged that the police acted in haste due to the influential status of the complainant. The accused also said that he has not committed any crime and the legal provisions in the case are not applicable to the facts.
On the legality of the arrest, the court noted that the alleged offenses carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. In such cases, the police are required to comply with Section 35(1)(b) of the Indian Civil Service Code (BNSS), which requires officers to explain why an arrest is necessary.
The Magistrate observed that the available records did not establish that the Inquiry Officer had satisfactorily complied with these mandatory requirements. The court also pointed out that the mere need for further investigation cannot justify the arrest and detention of a person if the prescribed legal procedures are not followed.
Consequently, the court declared Jain’s arrest illegal and ordered his release.