Why is arrest of a person necessary?

For securing attendance at trial– Trial of an accused is necessary as it will aid in determining conviction or
acquittal of the accused. Hence, the attendance of the accused at the time of trial is a mandatory requirement.
In order to secure the attendance of the accused the law provides for arrest of the accused.
As a preventive measure– If relevant authorities apprehend that there is imminent danger of commission of
crime by a person, then it becomes necessary as a preventive measure to arrest such person.
To obtain correct name and address- when a person on being interrogated by a Police Officer refuses to
provide his name and address then under certain circumstances as specified under Section 42 of Code of
Criminal Procedure. This provision provides for arrest if in the presence of a police officer, a person has
committed or has been accused of committing a non-cognizable offence and on being demanded refuses to
give his name or address.
Obstructing a Police Officer in Execution of his duty- Whoever obstructs a Police Officer in execution of his
duty is liable to be arrested by the Police Officer immediately. This is essential for effective discharge of duties
of a police officer.
For retaking a person escaped from custody- Under Section 41(1) (e) of CrPC any Police officer may without
an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person has escaped, or attempts to escape, from
lawful custody.

Rights of an arrested Person

Right to be informed of the grounds of arrest- This is a statutorily recognized right of an arrested person to be
informed about the grounds of arrest. Sections 50 and 50A of the CrPC imposes a legal duty to communicate
the arrested person grounds of his/her arrest without any delay. Even Article 22(1) of the Constitution extends
protection to arrested person and states that no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without
being informed of the grounds for such arrest.
Timely intimation of the grounds of arrest is imperative in order to avoid any mistake or misunderstanding (if
any) committed by the arresting authority.

One of the landmark authorities which enumerates the guidelines to be followed by arresting authorities in
the event of arrest or detention is the Supreme Court’s judgement in the case of D.K. Basu v. State of West
Bengal[1]. The decisions emanating from this caser also led to the incorporation of Section 50A of
CrPC which imposes a legal obligation on the Police to give information regarding such arrest and place where
the arrested person is being held to any of his friends, relatives or such other persons as may be nominated by
the arrested person for the purpose of giving such information[2].
Right to be informed about the Right to Bail- under Section 50(2) of CrPC every Police Officer arresting any
person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offence is required to inform the person arrested that he
is entitled to be released on bail and that he may arrange for sureties on his behalf.
Right to be produced before a Magistrate without delay- The CrPC under Sections 56 and 76 mandates that
the person arrested shall be produced before the Magistrate or the Court having jurisdiction in the case
without unnecessary delay.
Right of not being detained for more than 24 hours- This provides that the arresting authority is required to
produce the arrested person without unnecessary delay before the Magistrate and in no case such delay shall
be more than 24 hours. However, the stipulated period of 24 hours excludes the time necessary for the
journey from the place of arrest to Magistrate’s Court[3]. If this requirement is not followed by the arresting
authority then the arrest will be deemed to be unlawful[4].
Right to Consult a Lawyer– Article 22(1) of the Constitution recognizes the arrested person’s right to consult
and defended by a legal practitioner as a fundamental right. It states that no person who is arrested shall be
detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be
denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.
Further Section 303 of CrPC also entails this as a right of arrested person and provides that any person
accused of an offence may of right be defended by a pleader of his choice.
Right of arrested person for free legal aid- This is not a statutorily recognized right however in the case
of Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar[5] the Supreme Court had categorically stated that the State is under a
constitutional mandate to provide free legal aid to an arrested indigent person and that this constitutional
mandate to provide legal aid does not arise only when the trial commences but also when the accused is for
the first time produced before the Magistrate as also when he is remanded from time to time.
Moreover, the right to free legal aid of an arrested indigent person cannot be denied even if the accused failed
to apply for it. That unless refused, failure to provide free legal aid to an indigent accused would vitiate the
trial[6].
Right to be Examined by a Medical Practitioner- Section 54 of CrPC states that when an arrested person
alleges 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 direct the examination of the body of such person by a
registered medical practitioner. However, the request shall not be made for the purpose of vexation or delay
or for defeating the ends of justice.

Supreme Court’s Guidelines in D.K. Basu v.

State of West Bengal
In this judgement, the Supreme Court had issued instructions to be followed by the arresting authority at the
time of detention of a person. They are as under:

 The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear
accurate, visible and clear identification and name togs with their designations. The particulars of all such
police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register.
 That the police officer carrying out the arrest of the arrestee shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of
arrest a memo shall be attested by atleast one witness who may be either a member of the family of the
arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made. It shall also be counter signed
by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.
 A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation
center or other lock-up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or
having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being
detained at the particular place, unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself such a friend
or a relative of the arrestee.
 The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of an arrestee must be notified by the police where the next
friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town through the legal Aid Organization in the
District and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours after
the arrest.
 The person arrested must be made aware of this right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention
as soon he is put under arrest or is detained.
 An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person which shall
also disclose the name of the next friend of the person who has been informed of the arrest and the names
and particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.
 The arrestee should, where he so requests, be also examined at the time of his arrest and major and minor
injuries, if any present on his/her body, must be recorded at that time. The “Inspection Memo” must be
signed both by the arrestee and the police officer effecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.
 The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by trained doctor every 48 hours during his
detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by Director, Health Services of
the concerned Stare or Union Territory. Director, Health Services should prepare such a penal for all
Tehsils and Districts as well.
 Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the illaqa
Magistrate for his record.
 The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the
interrogation.
 A police control room should be provided at all district and state headquarters, where information
regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated by the officer causing
the arrest, within 12 hours of effecting the arrest and at the police control room it should be displayed on a
conspicuous notice board