Displaying notice of arrested persons
In order to prevent the misuse of provisions related to arrest by Police, the BNSS (Cl. 37/B) has introduced additional obligation on the State Government to designate a Police Officer who would be responsible for maintaining information regarding all arrests and arrestees. The Clause also requires such information to be displayed prominently in every Police Station and at District Hqrs.
- In case of offences punishable with imprisonment below 3 years and where the accused is infirm or above 60 years of age, a police officer cannot arrest the person without prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Cl. 35/7).
- The category of persons who could be informed regarding arrest of the arrestee has been expanded to include ‘any other person’, apart from the existing provisions related to informing any relative or a friend. An entry of the fact as to who has been informed of the arrest shall be made in a book to be kept in the Police Station in such form as the State Government may provide (Cl. 48/3).
- Provision has also been made in the BNSS to enable the medical practitioner conducting the medical examination of an arrested person, to conduct one more examination if such practitioner deems it fit (Cl. 53).
- Vide Cl. 58 of BNSS, an arrestee may be produced before a magistrate within the first 24 hours of arrest, even if such magistrate does not have jurisdiction.
- Persons bound to conform to lawful directions of Police: This is a new insertion as CI.172 in Chapter XII on ‘Preventive Action of the Police’. It provides that persons must conform to directions of the police, which are issued in the course of preventing the commission of a cognizable offence. A Police officer may detain or remove any person resisting, refusing, ignoring or disregarding to conform to any direction given by him for fulfilment of any duty of a Police officer under Chapter XII on ‘Preventive action of the Police’ and may either take such person before a Magistrate or, in petty cases, release him as soon as possible within a period of twenty-four hours.
- Protection against Prosecution for acts done under ss.148, 149 and 150: Unlawful assembly is dispersed, under the CrPC, by the police under directions of an Executive Magistrate or officer in charge of a police station. For any dereliction in carrying out of these duties, police officers cannot be prosecuted without sanction of the government. This essentially provides a layer of immunity to the officers.
- Some of the Police related salient provisions are listed in Annexure III.
