CHAPTER V

CHAPTER V - ARREST OF PERSONS

41. When police may arrest without warrant

(1) Any police officer may without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any

person—

(a) who has been concerned in any cognizable offence, or against whom a reasonable

complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or a reasonable

suspicion exists, of his having been so concerned; or

(b) who has in his possession without lawful excuse, the burden of proving which excuse

shall lie on such person, any implement of house-breaking; or

(c) who has been proclaimed as an offender either under this Code or by order of the

State Government; or

(d) in whose possession anything is found which may reasonably be suspected to be

stolen property and who may reasonably be suspected of having committed an offence

with reference to such thing; or

(e) who obstructs a police officer while in the execution of his duty, or who has escaped,

or attempts to escape, from lawful custody; or

(f) who is reasonable suspected of being a deserter from any of the Armed Forces of the

Union; or

(g) who has been concerned in, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made,

or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists, of his having

been concerned in, any act committed at any place out of India which, if committed in

India, would have been punishable as an offence, and for which he is, under any law

relating to extradition, or otherwise, liable to be apprehended or detained in custody in

India; or

(h) who, being a released convict, commits a breach of any rule made under sub-section

(5) of section 365; or

(i) for whose arrest any requisition, whether written or oral, has been received from

another police officer, provided that the requisition specifies the person to be arrested and

the offence or other cause for which the arrest is to be made and it appears therefrom that

the person might lawfully be arrested without a warrant by the officer who issued the

requisition

(2) Any officer in charge of a police station may, in like manner, arrest or cause to be arrested

any person, belonging to one or more of the categories of person specified in section 109 or

section 110

42. Arrest on refusal to give name and residence

(1) When any person who, in the presence of a police officer, has committed or has been accused

of committing a non-cognizable offence refuses, on demand of such officer, to give his name and

residence or gives a name or residence which such officer has reason to believe to be false, he

may be arrested by such officer in order that his name or residence may be ascertained

(2) When the true name and residence of such person have been ascertained, he shall be released

on his executing a bond, with or without sureties, to appear before a Magistrate if so required:

Provided that, if such person is not resident in India, the bond shall be secured by a surety or

sureties resident in India

(3) Should the true name and residence of such person not be ascertained within twenty-four

hours from the time of arrest or should he fail to execute the bond, or, if so required, to furnish

sufficient sureties, he shall forthwith be forwarded to the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction

43. Arrest by private person and procedure on such arrest

(1) Any private person may arrest or cause to be arrested any person who in his presence

commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender, and, without

unnecessary delay, shall make over or cause to be made over any person so arrested to a police

officer, or, in the absence of a police officer, take such person or cause him to be taken in

custody to the nearest police station

(2) If there is reason to believe that such person comes under the provisions of section 41, a

police officer shall re-arrest him

(3) If there is reason to believe that he has committed a non-cognizable offence and he refuses on

the demand of a police officer to give his name and residence, or gives a name or residence

which such officer has reason to believe to be false, he shall be dealt with under the provisions of

section 42; but if there is no sufficient reason to believe that he has committed any offence, he

shall be at once released

44. Arrest by Magistrate

(1) When any offence is committed in the presence of a Magistrate, whether Executive or

Judicial, within his local jurisdiction, he may himself arrest or order any person to arrest the

offender, and may thereupon, subject to the provisions herein contained as to bail, commit the

offender to custody

(2) Any Magistrate, whether Executive or Judicial, may at any time arrest or direct the arrest, in

his presence, within his local jurisdiction, of any person for whose arrest he is competent at the

time and in the circumstances to issue a warrant

45. Protection of members of the Armed Forces from arrest

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 41 to 44 (both inclusive), no member of the

Armed Forces of the Union shall be arrested for anything done or purported to be done by him in

the discharge of his official duties except after obtaining the consent of the Central Government

(2) The State Government may, by notification, direct that the provisions of sub-section (1) shall

apply to such class or category of the members of the Force charged with the maintenance of

public order as may be specified therein, wherever they may be serving, and thereupon the

provisions of that sub-section shall apply as if for the expression "Central Government"

occurring therein, the expression "State Government" were substituted

STATE AMENDMENT

Assam:

For sub-section (2) of section 45, the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—

`(2) The State Government may, by notification, direct that the provisions of sub-section (1) shall

apply—

(a) to such class or category of the members of the Forces charged with the maintenance of

public order, or

(b) to such class or category of other public servants [not being persons to whom the provisions

of sub-section (1) apply charged with the maintenance of public order, as may be specified in

notification, wherever, they may be serving, and thereupon the provisions of that sub-section

shall apply as if for the expression "Central Government" occurring therein, the expression "State

Government" were substituted'

[Vide President's Act 3 of 1980, sec 2 (wef 5-6-1980)

46. Arrest how made

(1) In making an arrest the police officer or other person making the same shall actually touch or

confine the body of the person to be arrested, unless there be a submission to the custody by

word or action

(2) If such person forcibly resists the endeavour to arrest him, or attempts to evade the arrest,

such police officer or other person may use all means necessary to effect the arrest

(3) Nothing in this section gives a right to cause the death of a person who is not accused of an

offence punishable with death or with imprisonment for life

47. Search of place entered by person sought to be arrested

(1) If any person acting under a warrant of arrest, or any police officer having authority to arrest,

has reason to believe that the person to be arrested has entered into, or is within, any place, any

person residing in, or being in charge of, such place shall, on demand of such person acting as

aforesaid or such police officer, allow him such free ingress thereto, and afford all reasonable

facilities for a search therein

(2) If ingress to such place cannot be obtained under sub-section (1), it shall be lawful in any

case for a person acting under a warrant and in any case in which a warrant may issue, but cannot

be obtained without affording the person to be arrested an opportunity of escape, for a police

officer to enter such place and search therein, and in order to effect an entrance into such place,

to break open any outer or inner door or window of any house or place, whether that of the

person to be arrested or of any other person, if after notification of his authority and purposes,

and demand of admittance duly made, he cannot otherwise obtain admittance:

Provided that, if any such place is an apartment in the actual occupancy of a female (not

being the person to be arrested) who, according to custom, does not appear in public, such person

or police officer shall, before entering such apartment, give notice to such female that she is at

liberty to withdraw and shall afford her every reasonable facility for withdrawing, and may then

break open the apartment and enter it

(3) Any police officer or other person authorised to make an arrest may break open any outer or

inner door or window of any house or place in order to liberate himself or any other person who,

having lawfully entered for the purpose of making an arrest, is detained therein

48. Pursuit of offenders into other jurisdictions

A police officer may, for the purpose of arresting without warrant any person whom he is

authorised to arrest, pursue such person into any place in India

49. No unnecessary restraint

The person arrested shall not be subjected to more restraint than is necessary to prevent his

escape

50. Person arrested to be informed of grounds of arrest and of right to bail

(1) Every police officer or other person arresting any person without warrant shall forthwith

communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for

such arrest

(2) Where a police officer arrests without warrant any person other than a person accused of a

non-bailable offence, he shall inform the person arrested that he is entitled to be released on bail

and that he may arrange for sureties on his behalf

51. Search of arrested persons

(1) Whenever a person is arrested by a police officer under a warrant which does not provide for

the taking of bail, or under a warrant which provides for the taking of bail but the person arrested

cannot furnish bail, and whenever a person is arrested without warrant, or by a private person

under a warrant, and cannot legally be admitted to bail, or is unable to furnish bail

The officer making the arrests or, when the arrest is made by a private person, the police

officer to whom he makes over the person arrested, may search such person, and place in safe

custody all articles, other than necessary wearing-apparel, found upon him and where any article

is seized from the arrested person, a receipt showing the articles taken in possession by the police

officer shall be given to such person

(2) Whenever it is necessary to cause a female to be searched, the search shall be made by

another female with strict regard to decency

52. Power to seize offensive weapons

The officer or other person making any arrest under this Code may taken from the person

arrested any offensive weapons which he has about his person, and shall deliver all weapons so

taken to the Court or officer before which or whom the officer or person making the arrest is

required by this Code to produce the person arrested

53. Examination of accused by medical practitioner at the request of police officer

(1) When a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of such a nature and alleged

to have been committed under such circumstances that there are reasonable grounds for believing

that an examination of his person will afford evidence as to the commission of an offence, it shall

be lawful for a registered medical practitioner, acting at the request of a police officer not below

the rank of sub-inspector, and for any person acting in good faith in his aid and under his

direction, to make such an examination of the person arrested as is reasonable necessary in order

to ascertain the facts which may afford such evidence, and to use such force as is reasonably

necessary for that purpose

(2) Whenever the person of a female is to be examined under this section, the examination shall

be made only by, or under the supervision of, a female registered medical practitioner

Explanation—In this section and in section 54, "registered medical practitioner" means a

medical practitioner who possesses any recognized medical qualification as defined in clause (h)

of section 2 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), and whose name has been

entered in a State Medical Register

54. Examination of arrested person by medical practitioner at the request of the arrested

person

When a person who is arrested, whether on a charge or otherwise, alleges, at the time when he is

produced before a Magistrate or at any time during the period of his detention in custody that the

examination of his body will afford evidence which will disprove the commission by him of any

offence or which will establish the commission by any other person of any offence against his

body, the Magistrate shall, if requested by the arrested person so to do direct the examination of

the body of such person by a registered medical practitioner unless the Magistrate considers that

the request is made for the purpose of vexation or delay or for defeating the ends of justice

STATE AMENDMENT

Uttar Pradesh:

In section 54, the following sentence shall be inserted at the end, namely:—

"The registered medical practitioner shall forthwith furnish to the arrested person a copy of the

report of such examination free of cost"

55. Procedure when police officer deputes subordinate to arrest without warrant

(1) When any officer in charge of a police station or any police officer making an investigation

under Chapter XII requires any officer subordinate to him to arrest without a warrant (otherwise

than in his presence) any person who may lawfully be arrested without a warrant, he shall deliver

to the officer required to make the arrest an order in writing, specifying the person to be arrested

and the offence or other cause for which the arrest is to be made and the officer so required shall,

before making the arrest, notify to the person to be arrested the substance of the order and, if so

required by such person, shall show him the order

(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall affect the power of a police officer to arrest a person under

section 41

56. Person arrested to be taken before Magistrate or officer in charge of police station

A police officer making an arrest without warrant shall, without unnecessary delay and subject to

the provisions herein contained as to bail, take or send the person arrested before a Magistrate

having jurisdiction in the case, or before the officer in charge of a police station

57. Person arrested not to be detained more than twenty-four hours

No police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without warrant for a longer period

than under all the circumstances of the case is reasonable, and such period shall not, in the

absence of a special order of a Magistrate under section 167, exceed twenty-four hours exclusive

of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate's Court

58. Police to report apprehensions

Officers in charge of police stations shall report to the District Magistrate, or, if he so directs, to

the Sub-divisional Magistrate, the cases of all persons arrested without warrant, within the limits

of their respective stations, whether such persons have been admitted to bail or otherwise

59. Discharge of person apprehended

No person who has been arrested by a police officer shall be discharged except on his own bond,

or on bail, or under the special order of a Magistrate

60. Powers, on escape, to pursue and re-take

(1) If a person in lawful custody escapes or is rescued, the person from whose custody he

escaped or was rescued may immediately pursue and arrest him in any place in India

(2) The provisions of section 47 shall apply to arrests under sub-section (1) although the person

making any such arrest is not acting under a warrant and is not a police officer having authority

to arrest.