Criminal Procedure code, 1973

Module 2:
• The distinction between cognizable and non-cognizable offences:
relevance
• and adequacy problems.
• Steps to ensure accused's presence at trial: warrant and summons.
• Arrest with and without warrant (Section 70-72 and 31).
• The absconder status (Section 82, 82, 83 and 84)
• Right of the arrested person
• Right to know grounds of arrest (Section 40(1), 44, 74).
• Right to be taken to magistrate without delay (Section 46, 47).
• Right of not being detained for more than twenty-four hours (section 47)
• Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India.
• Right to consult legal practitioner, legal aid and the right to be told of rights
to
• bail Right to be examined by a medical practitioner (Section 43)
 Process To Compel
Appearance Of Person

[Sec 61-90 CrPC]

Summons: As Non- Coercive Method to Compel
Appearance Under Code of Criminal Procedure,
• Definition:

A document issued from the office of a court of justice calling upon the
person to whom it is directed to attend before a judge or officer of the
court.

 Purpose
 Summons is an authoritative call to appear in the court of law
Attendance of the accused
To a witness to record his statement
For production of document or person.

Contents of Summons
Title of the case
Place of sitting
Date of appearance
Timings of the court
Case no
• Service of summons:
 General rule as to service of the summons is that the summons would be
handed personally to the person
 Exceptions
Substituted service u/s 70
Service by affixture u/s 71
Court to court service u/s 73

• Substituted Service u/s 70

• The person summoned is not found after the due diligence
• There must be more than one attempt
• The duplicate of summons must be left with some adult male members of
the family
• Person so receiving summons must sign receipt on the back of the
duplicate in token of acknowledgement
Service by Affixture-procedure when service cannot be affected u/s 71
o Cannot be affected by due diligence
o The serving officer shall affix one of the duplicates of the summons  To
some conspicuous part of the house or
o the homestead in which the person summoned ordinarily resides
Court to court service-outside local limits u/s 73
o If a person sought to be summoned
o Resides outside the local limits of the jurisdiction of the court issuing the
summons
o It should send such summons in duplicate
o To a magistrate
o Within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such person resides
Proof of service of summons u/s 74
o Affidavit proof of summons being served
o Made before magistrate
o Endorsed
o Admissibility in evidence
• In case of a corporate body it may be served to the secretary, local manager
or to the principal officer of the corporation.
• In case the above mentioned persons are not available for serving of
summons the copy of the summon shall be affixed to the out door of the
house in which the person summoned ordinarily resides.
• Where the person is summoned is a government servant summons could
be served through his employer. 
WARRANT. WHAT IS A WARRANT?
TYPES OF WARRANTS. WHEN IS A
WARRANT ISSUED?
WHAT IS A WARRANT?
• A written order issued by a judicial officer or other authorized person
commanding a law enforcement officer to perform some act incident to
the administration of justice.
• Warrants are recognized in many different forms and for a variety of
purposes in the law. Most commonly, police use warrants as the basis to
arrest a suspect and to conduct a search of property for evidence of a
crime.
• Warrants are also used to bring persons to court who have ignored a
subpoena or a court appearance. In another context, wa rrants may be
issued to collect taxes or to pay out money.
• WARRANTS IN CRIMINAL CASES-

• An arrest warrant is usually designed to detain a person who is suspected

of committing a specific crime.
• By and large, an arrest warrant is granted when probable cause supports
that a crime has been committed by the person listed in the warrant.
• If a defendant fails to make an initial appearance in court after a citation
has been issued, the court may issue an arrest warrant known as an alias
warrant.
• For instance, if a defendant does not show up in court after being
summoned on a speeding ticket charge, the court may hand out an alias
warrant for the defendant’s arrest.
• Another kind of arrest warrant, known as a bench warrant, is sometimes
issued to a defendant who fails to make his or her next scheduled court
appearance.
WARRANTS IN CRIMINAL CASES-
• Search warrants are other common types of warrants. Customarily, a
search warrant is issued for the purpose of permitting law enforcement
officers to search a person or private property.
• These warrants allow officers to investigate evidence about a crime that
has been committed.
• In general, courts require an officer to submit a sworn statement when
requesting a search warrant.
• Usually, the warrant must describe with particularity the person or place
to be searched as well as the property being sought.
WARRANTS IN CIVIL CASES-
• If a plaintiff is seeking monetary relief from a defendant, the plaintiff
may file a civil warrant in debt.
• A warrant in detinue can be used by a plaintiff who wishes to recover
personal property wrongly obtained by a defendant.
• Generally, civil warrants are used for small claims court actions, and they
require basic information, like the defendant’s name and address as well
as the claim amount and basis.
• Usually, a plaintiff must pay filing and sheriff fees in order to serve the
warrant on the defendant.
WARRANT OF ARREST.
• A warrant of arrest is a written authority given by a competent magistrate
for the arrest of a person.
• It is a more drastic step than the issue of a summons.
• It is addressed to a person, usually a police officer, to apprehend and
produce the offender in front of the court.
 ESSENTIALS OF WARRANT OF ARREST-
• The warrant must clearly mention the name and other particulars of the
person to be arrested.
• As per Section 70(1), every warrant of arrest shall be in writing.
•It must be signed by the presiding officer of the court and must bear the
seal of the court.
• It must show the person to whom the authority to arrest has been given.
• Section 73provides that a magistrate may direct a warrant to any person
within his jurisdiction for the arrest of any escaped convict, proclaimed
offender, or of any person who is accused of a non- bailable offence and is
evading arrest.
• It may include a direction that if the person arrested under the warrant
executes a bond and gives security for his attendance in court, he shall be
released. Warrant with such a direction is called as bailable warrant of
arrest. • It must clearly specify the offence.
• PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING A WARRANT-
• • When a request in appropriate format is made to the court for compelling
the appearance for a person, the court either rejects the request or issues a
Warrant.

• • As per Section 204, if in the opinion of the magistrate taking cognizance

of the offence, there is sufficient ground for proceeding, and if the cases is
a warrant case, he may issue a warrant or if he thinks fit, he may issue a
summons.
• • Further, Section 87, empowers a magistrate to issue a warrant even if the
case is a summons case if he has reason to believe that the summons will
be disobeyed.
• • He must record his reasons for this action.
PROCEDURE OF EXECUTING A WARRANT-
• Section 79 specifies the procedure for executing a warrant outside the
local jurisdiction of the issuing court as follows –
• (1) When a warrant directed to a police officer is to be executed beyond
the local jurisdiction of the Court issuing the same, he shall ordinarily take
it for endorsement either to an Executive Magistrate or to a police officer
not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station, within the
local limits of whose jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed.
• (2) Such Magistrate or police officer shall endorse his name thereon and
such endorsement shall be sufficient authority to the police officer to
whom the warrant is directed to execute the same, and the local police
shall, if so required, assist such officer in executing such warrant.
• (3)Whenever there is reason to believe that the delay occasioned by
obtaining the endorsement of the Magistrate or police officer within
whose local jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed will prevent such
execution, the police officer to whom it is directed may execute the same
without such endorsement in any place beyond the local jurisdiction of the
Court which issued it.
Arrest of Person and right of Arrested Person.
RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS / IMPORTANT RIGHTS OF AN ARRESTED
PERSON:

• i. WHEN POLICE IS ARRESTING WITHOUT WARRANT: Under

Section 41 of CrPC wide powers are conferred on police to
arrest, mainly in cognizable offences, without having to go to
Magistrate for obtaining warrant of arrest. There can be no
legal arrest if there is no information or reasonable suspicion
that the person has been involved in a cognizable offence or
commits offence(s), specified in Section 41.
• ARREST HOW MADE – Section 46 of CrPC envisages modes of
arrest i.e. submission to custody, touching the body physically
or confining the body. Arrest is restraint on personal liberty.
Unless there is submission to custody, by words or by conduct,
arrest can be made by actual contact. In case force is required,
it should be no more than which is justly required and this
section does not give a right to cause death of a person, who is
not accused of an offence punishable with the death or with
imprisonment for life.
• Where a woman is to be arrested, unless the police officer is a
female, the police officer shall not touch the person of the
woman for making an arrest and arrest would be presumed on
her submission to custody on oral intimation. After sunset and
before sunrise, no woman can be arrested, except in
exceptional circumstances and upon prior written permission
from the local Magistrate.
. RIGHT TO KNOW THE GROUNDS OF ARREST: Section 50(1) CrPC provides, “every police
officer or other person arresting any person without a warrant shall forthwith
communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other
grounds for such arrest.” Apart from the provisions of CrPC, Article 22(1) of Constitution of
India provides, “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.”
Based on decisions of Supreme Court in Joginder Kumar v. State of UP, (1994) 4 SCC 260 and
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, (1997) 1 SCC 416 substantial amendments have been
enacted in Section 50-A of CrPC in the year 2006 making in obligatory on the part of the
police officer making an arrest to inform the friend, relative or any nominated person of
the arrested person about his arrest, inform arrested person of his rights and make an
entry in the register maintained by the police. The magistrate is also under an obligation
to satisfy himself about the compliance of the police in this regard.
v. PERSON ARRESTED TO BE INFORMED OF THE RIGHT TO BAIL – Section 50(2) of CrPC provides that any person arrested without
warrant shall be immediately informed of the grounds of his arrest, and if the arrest is made in a bailable case, the person shall be
informed of his right to be released on bails. Section 50 is mandatory and carries out the mandate of Article 22(1) of the
Constitution of India.
vi. SEARCH OF ARRESTED PERSON- Section 51 of CrPC allows a police officer to make personal search of arrested persons. With
regard to the provisions of this section, the reference may be made to Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India which is a guarantee
to the accused against self-incriminating testimonial compulsion. Though an accused cannot be compelled to produce any evidence
against him, it can be seized under process of law from the custody or person of the accused by the issue of a search warrant.
vii. MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF ARRESTED PERSON – Section 54 of CrPC provides for compulsory medical examination by a medical
officer in service of central or state government, or by registered medical practitioner, upon non-availability of such medical officer.
Female arrestees can only be examined by female medical officer or registered medical practitioner.
However, Section 53 & 53A of CrPC provide if there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of arrestee, on a
charge of committing rape or other offence, will afford evidence so as to the commission of such offence, it shall be lawful to
medically examine blood, blood stains, semen, hair samples, finger nail clippings by use of modern & scientific techniques including
DNA and such other tests, which the medical officer thinks necessary in a particular case, acting at the request of a police officer.
viii. PERSON ARRESTED NOT TO BE DETAINED MORE THAN 24 HOURS – The
constitutional and legal requirements to produce an arrested person before
a Judicial Magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest must be scrupulously
observed (Khatri v. State of Bihar, AIR 1983 SC 378). Section 57 is concerned
solely with the question of the period of detention. The intention is that the
accused should be brought before a magistrate competent to try or commit,
with the least delay. The right to be taken out of police custody by being
brought before a Magistrate is vital in order to prevent arrest and detention,
with a view to extract confession or as a means of compelling people to give
information.
ix. RIGHT TO FREE LEGAL AID – while after the arrest, a person shall have
the right to consult and to be defended by a counsel of his choice; arrestee
shall be entitled to free legal aid. Apart from ensuring a fair prosecution, a
society under the Rule of law has also a duty to arrange for the defence of
the accused, if he is too poor to do so. Free legal aid to persons of limited
means is a service which the modern State, in particular a welfare state,
owes to its citizens (Law Commission of India, 14th Report, Vol. I, pp 587-
600).