arrest

Arrest is actual restraint of a person's liberty under legal authority, usually by touching or confining the body unless he submits. Police may arrest without warrant in cognizable cases on the grounds set out in the BNSS; for offences punishable up to seven years they must be satisfied that arrest is necessary, and otherwise issue a notice of appearance.

An arrested person must be told the grounds of arrest, informed of the right to bail in bailable cases, allowed to inform a relative and consult a lawyer, and produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, excluding travel time (Article 22). The Supreme Court laid down safeguards in D.K. Basu (1996) and warned against routine arrests in Arnesh Kumar (2014).

Example

The police made the arrest without recording why it was necessary for a five-year offence, violating s.35 BNSS and the Arnesh Kumar guidelines.

In Indian law

• Section 35, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (old s.41 and s.41A CrPC): arrest without warrant; notice of appearance
• Article 22(1) and (2), Constitution of India
• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2014 INSC 463
• D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, 1996 INSC 1508

See also

bail · warrant · police custody · cognizable offence

Read more in the study notes

• Arrest: concept, procedure, safeguards, proclamation and handcuffing (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Default and recovery: Debts Recovery Tribunals and the SARFAESI Act (Banking Law)
• Criminal procedure: meaning, background and salient features of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Definitions, classification of offences, and the courts, prosecution and police under the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Initiation of a criminal case: FIR, Zero FIR, preliminary enquiry, investigation and complaint (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Processes to compel appearance and production of things (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)