What is a warrant? To whom it is directed? State the procedure for its execution.

Question: What is a warrant? To whom it is directed? State the procedure for its execution. [U.P.C.J. 2015]

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Answer

The term warrant is not defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure. As per the Concise Oxford dictionary, “Warrant is an official authorization enabling the police or some other body to make an arrest, search premises, etc.” Thus, it is an order or writ of the Court directing and empowering a particular person/authority to execute the directions in the warrant.

Chapter­ VI of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with the process to compel appearance. The warrant may be issued to Police Officer or any other person to execute the same. As per Section 70 of CrPC., every warrant of arrest issued by the court shall be signed by the Presiding Officer of such court and shall bear the seal of the court and every such warrant shall remain in force until it is cancelled by the court which issued or until it is executed.

The Hon’ble Apex Court in case of State v. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, AIR 1997 S.C. 2494 has held that even in the course of the investigation and before taking the cognizance of the case, a warrant can be issued.

Section 72- Warrant to whom directed.

This section states that a warrant of arrest is normally directed to a police officer. The court can also issue an arrest warrant to any other person or persons only when its execution is necessary and no police officer is immediately available. If an arrest warrant is directed or issued to two or more officers or persons, then all or any one of them can execute it.

Section 73 states that a warrant may be directed to any person. It provides that-

(1) The Chief Judicial Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class may direct a warrant to any person 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.

(2) Such person shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of the warrant and shall execute it if the person for whose arrest it was issued, is in, or enters on, any land or other property under his charge.

(3) When the person against whom such a warrant is issued is arrested, he shall be handed over with the warrant to the nearest police officer, who shall cause him to be taken before a Magistrate having jurisdiction in the case unless security is taken under section 71.

Section 74 talks about the warrant directed to a police officer. It states that a warrant directed to any police officer may also be executed by any other police officer whose name is endorsed upon the warrant by the officer to whom it is directed or endorsed.

Section 76 provides that the Police Officer executing the warrant shall produce the arrested person immediately not exceeding 24 hours before the Magistrate. The Police Officer executing the warrants shall communicate the substance of the warrant to the said person or show the warrant to him. The warrants are executable throughout India.

Execution of Warrants outside Jurisdiction

As per section 78(1), a warrant may be sent by post, to the Magistrate or District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police within the local limits of whose jurisdiction it is to be executed. When the warrant is executed beyond the local limits of the Court issuing warrant, Executive Magistrate or police officer in charge of a police station, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed, shall endorse his name thereon.

When the warrant of arrest is executed outside the district, the person arrested shall be taken before the Magistrate or DSP within whose jurisdiction the arrest is made. As per section 78(2) the court while issuing warrant shall forward, along with the warrant, the substance of the information against the person to be arrested together with such documents, if any, as may be sufficient to enable the court to act under section 81 to decide whether the bail should or should not be granted to the person.

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