Right To Know The Grounds of Arrest Firstly, according to Section 50(1) Cr.P.C. “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.”
Secondly, when a subordinate officer is deputed by a senior police officer to arrest a person under Section 55 Cr.P.C., such subordinate officer shall, before making the arrest, notify to the person to be arrested the substance of the written order given by the senior police officer specifying the offence or other cause for which the arrest is to be made. Non- compliance with this provision will render the arrest illegal.
Thirdly, in case of arrest to be made under a warrant, Section 75 Cr.P.C. provides that “the police officer or other person executing a warrant of arrest shall notify the substance thereof to the person to be arrested, and if so required, shall show him the warrant.” If the substance of the warrant is not notified, the arrest would be unlawful.
Indian constitution has also conferred on this right the status of the fundamental right. Article 22(2) of the constitution provides that “no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed as soon as may be, of the grounds of such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.”
The right to be informed of the grounds of arrest is a precious right of the arrested person. Timely information of the grounds of arrest serves him in many ways. It enables him to move the proper court for bail, or in appropriate circumstances for a writ of habeas corpus, or to make expeditious arrangement for his defence.
Information Regarding The Right To Be Released On Bail
Section 50(2) Cr.P.C. provides that “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 in bail that he may arrange for sureties on his.” This will certainly be of help to persons who may not know about their rights to be released on bail in case of bailable offences. As a consequence, this provision may in some small measures, improve the relations of the people with the police and reduce discontent against them.
Right To Be Taken Before A Magistrate Without Delay
Whether the arrest is made without warrant by a police officer, or whether the arrest is made under a warrant by any person, the person making the arrest must bring the arrested person before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay. It is also provided that the arrested person should not be confined in any place other than a police station before he is taken to the magistrate. These matters have been provided in Cr.P.C. under section 56 and 76 which are as given below:
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.
76. Person arrested to be brought before Court without delay- The police officer or other person executing a warrant of arrest shall (subject to the provisions of section 71 as to security) without unnecessary delay bring the person arrested before the Court before which he is required by law to produce such person.
Provided that such delay shall not, in any case, exceed 24 hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate’s Cou
Right Of Not Being Detained For More Than 24 Hours Without Judicial Scrutiny
Whether the arrest is without warrant or under a warrant, the arrested person must be brought before the magistrate or court within 24 hours. Section 57 provides as follows:
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.
This right has been further strengthened by its incorporation in the Constitution as a fundamental right. Article 22(2) of the Constitution proves 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 excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.”
0 Comments