By Aditya Sharma

17605
 Arrest means deprivation of liberty of a person by legal authority. Chapter V of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.) deals with the provisions
related to Arrest. The Indian criminal laws do not define the term ‘Arrest’
anywhere. An arrest is an important tool in criminal laws and its purpose is to
present an offender before the court and prevent him from escaping. The arrest
also helps to prohibit the accused from committing any subsequent crime.
Power to arrest under Cr.P.C. is lawful. However, it does not mean that being a
lawful act any person will be arrested without any reasonable cause. There has
to be a justifiable cause to arrest any person as the same was held in the case of
Joginder Kumar v. the State of UP.
 Arrest by Police Officer

 Arrest by Magistrate

 Arrest by a Private Person

 The process of arrest or the manner in which the arrest can be effected by a police officer or any
other person is dealt with under Section 46 of the Code of Criminal procedure. For the purpose of
making an arrest, it is necessary that the body of the person should be actually touched or confined
by the police officer. Only oral intimidation without actual touch or submission will not result in
arrest. The person, to be arrested, can also make submission himself to the custody by expressed
words or conduct.
 , if the person who is to be arrested is a female, then the male police officer shall not touch her for
making the arrest unless there is a female police officer or it is the need of the circumstances. Also,
the oral intimidation of the arrest shall be presumed as her submission to custody. In circumstances
where the person being arrested actively opposes or seeks to elude arrest, the police are authorized
to use a reasonable amount of methods of force to make the arrest. This section does not grant the
right to kill someone who has not been charged with a crime punishable with death or life
imprisonment. A woman cannot be arrested after nightfall and before daybreak, unless under
extreme circumstances, in which case the woman police officer can acquire prior permission to
make an arrest from the Judicial Magistrate of the local jurisdiction by filing a written report.
Section 41 of the Cr.P.C. deals with the main situations when a police officer may make an arrest without a warrant or without an order of
a magistrate. A Police Officer may arrest any person, who commits any cognizable offence in the presence of that police officer.
a) against whom Reasonable complaints are made,he has committed an offence punishable with 3 to 7 years imprisonment of either
description with or without fine.
b) Against whom Reasonable complaints are made he has committed an offence punishable with more than 7 years imprisonment of either
description with or without fine or life imprisonment or death sentence.
c) Who is a proclaimed offender?
d) Who has or is suspected to have a stolen property in possession without a lawful excuse.
e) Who obstructs an on-duty police officer; or Escapes or attempts to escape from legal custody.
f) Who is deserter from armed forces?
g) Who has committed an offence outside the Indian Territory But if done in India, would have been punishable under any enactment.
Thus, subjected to Laws of extradition.
h) Who, being a released convict, breaches any rule stated under sub-section (5) of section 356 of Cr.P.C. Against whom a requisition (in
which all the details of the offender to be arrested are mention along with the cause of the arrest) has been made to this Police officer by
another Police officer, who is authorized to arrest that person without a warrant
This is to be noted that if the Police Officer makes or does not make any such arrest, he must record the reasons of his act in written.
Section 42 states another situation when a police officer is authorized to make an arrest with a warrant or order from magistrate.
 Laxminarayan Vishwanath Arya V. State of Maharashtra, 2008 CriLJ:

 Bhawoo Jivaji v. Mulji Dayal, 1966:

 Emperor v. Madho Dhobhi (1903):

 Search of a place

 Pursuit of offenders

 Deputing Subordinate officer to arrest

 Power to Pursue and retake, if there is an escape

 Inform the grounds of Arrest

 Search of Arrested Person

 Seizure of Offensive Weapons

 Medical Examination

 Report before the Magistrate

The rights of the prisoners have been a developing one. From the case of Platek v. Aderhold
(USA) where the courts ruled that it has no power to interfere with the conduct of prison or its
rules and regulations to the case of Johnson v. Avery wherein the court recognised certain rights
of the prisoners, the change has been a progressive one. In the Indian sphere, the judiciary of the
country has invoked Fundamental Rights of the Constitution repeatedly to the rescue of the
prisoners. In the famous case of Charles Sobraj through Marie Andre’s v. The Superintendent,
Tihar Jail, the Supreme Court Judge Justice Krishna Aiyer held that: “..imprisonment does not
spell farewell to fundamental rights although, by a realistic re-appraisal, Courts will refuse to
recognise the full panoply of Part III enjoyed by a free citizen”. He further stated that the
imprisonment of a prisoner is not merely retribution or deterrence but also rehabilitation.
Fundamental rights form the core of human rights in India. They are the basic rights of the
citizens which cannot be taken away under any circumstances. The law of the country also
guarantees some of these rights to the prisoners too like Article 14, 19, 21.

 Right to Privacy
 Right against solitary confinement and bar fetters
 Right to Life and personal liberty
 Right to live with human dignity
 Right to health and medical treatment
 Right to a speedy trial

 Right to legal aid

 Right against Inhuman treatment

 Right to Education

 Right to publication
 Union of Indian v. Padma Narain
 R. R. Chari v. State of Uttar Pradesh
 State of Bombay vs. Kathi Kalu Oghad
 State of Andhra Pradesh v. Challa Ramkrishna Reddy
 Kharak Singh v. State of UP
 Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
 Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar [(2014) 8 SCC 273]
 As we have seen, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 governs the police procedure for arresting someone in
India and assigns them with duties, however, this power of arrest provided to Police Officers is continuously
being abused. The Officers have been seen using their authority to threaten and extort money from persons who
have been arrested. According to reports, they also fail to tell the arrested people about the charges against
them, do not give them the appropriate legal assistance, and don’t present them in front of magistrate within 24
hours in many cases. As a result, it is critical to implement reforms in the Criminal Justice Administration, and
the method should be followed strictly in order to get the best results.
 Prisoners do not cease to be human beings when put behind bars. The Supreme Court and many other courts of
India have reiterated this position in several cases so that prisoners do not become a victim themselves. And are
provided with a proper rehabilitative environment to help them improve and become better beings. It is
incumbent upon the Central and State governments to not only provide the prisoners with humane conditions
for a living but also educate them about their rights so that it is not abused by the powerful inside the prison. It
could be said that the judiciary of the country has played a crucial role in safeguarding the rights of prisoners
whenever the legislative and executive have erred. It has acted as the savior of the convicts and upheld their
fundamental rights time and time again. It has thoroughly exercised its powers through judicial activism and has
repeatedly devised new remedies and tools to protect the human’s right to life and personal liberty. However,
much still needs to be done. In this regard, the wide circulation of human rights’ available to prisoners, vast
publicity of prisoners right in media and corner to corner surveillance in prisons could be some of the keys for
upholding the rights of prisoners and ensuring their safe space in the prison.