While making an arrest and thereafter what formalities regarding information have to be observed by the police? 

Question: While making an arrest and thereafter what formalities regarding information have to be observed by the police?

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Answer

When the police arrest someone, they take away that person’s fundamental right to freedom. Consequently, there are several procedures the police must follow before they can make a legal arrest so that our rights remain protected.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in D.K.Basu v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1997 SC 610, has laid down specific guidelines required to be followed while making arrests.

The Principles laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court are given hereunder:

1. The Police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible, and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The particulars of all such police personnel who handle the interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register
2. That the Police officer carrying out the arrest shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least 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.
3. A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation centre or other lock-up shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or having an 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.
4. 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 Organisation in the District and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours after the arrest.
5. The Person arrested must be made aware of his right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained.
6. 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 land particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.
7. 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 affecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.
8. The arrestee should be subjected to a medical examination by the trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by the Director, Health Services of the concerned State or Union Territory, Director, Health Services should prepare such a panel for all Tehsils and Districts as well.
9. Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the Magistrate for his record.
10. The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation.
11. 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.

It is after this case the CrPC was amended and the following sections were inserted.

Section 41B mentions about Procedure of arrest and the duties of the officer making an arrest. It provides that every police officer while making an arrest shall—

(a) bear an accurate, visible, and clear identification of his name which will facilitate easy identification

(b) prepare a memorandum of arrest which shall be—

(i) attested by at least one witness, who is a member of the family of the person arrested or a respectable member of the locality where the arrest is made;
(ii) countersigned by the person arrested; and

(c) inform the person arrested, unless the memorandum is attested by a member of his family, that he has a right to have a relative or a friend named by him to be informed of his arrest.

Section 41C Control room at districts.—

(1) The State Government shall establish a police control room—

(a) in every district; and
(b) at the State level.

(2) The State Government shall cause to be displayed on the notice board kept outside the control rooms at every district, the names and addresses of the persons arrested and the name and designation of the police officers who made the arrests.

(3) The control room at the Police Headquarters at the State level shall collect from time to time, details about the persons arrested, the nature of the offence with which they are charged, and maintain a database for the information of the general public.

Further, Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) says that every police officer with authority to arrest someone without a warrant must inform the person getting arrested about the crime for which he is arrested and other relevant grounds for the arrest.

This is the duty of the police officer which he cannot refuse. Similarly, Section 50A of CrPC makes it compulsory for the person/ police official arresting a person to inform of the arrest to any of his relatives or even friends who may have an interest in the same.

Section 50(2) Cr.P.C. provides that where a police officer arrests without warrant any person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offence, he shall inform the person arrested that he is entitled to be released on bail that he may arrange for sureties on his.

Section 55 of CrPC states that in situations where a police official authorizes his junior to arrest a person without a warrant, the junior official must notify the arrested person of the order of delegation that is given which must also mention the crime and the grounds of arrest.

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