Even during arrest, right to liberty as envisaged by the constitution is safeguarded by various procedures to be followed by the Police. An individual must be aware of the rights they possess while placed under arrest. This article talks about those rights that one must be aware of while placed under arrest by the police.
A person may be arrested for committing an alleged offence. The right to liberty as envisaged by the constitution is safeguarded by various procedures to be followed by the Police.
Any police officer, may without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person:
PERSON ARRESTED TO BE INFORMED OF GROUNDS OF ARREST
Every police officer, arresting without warrant, shall communicate to the person being arrested, full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds of arrest.
PERSON ARRESTED TO BE INFORMED OF RIGHT TO BAIL
Where a police officer arrests without warrant a person accused of a bailable offence, he shall inform the person arrested that he entitled to be released on bail and that he may arrange for surety on his behalf.
WHEN SEARCHED RECEIPT OF THE ARTICLES TAKEN TO BE GIVEN
Whenever a person is arrested, but the person arrested cannot furnish bail, the officer making the arrest may search such person, and place in safe custody all articles, other than necessary wearing apparel found upon him and where any article is seized from the arrested person, a receipt showing the article taken in possession shall be given to such person.
PERSON ARRESTED TO BE TAKEN BEFORE MAGISTRATE OR OFFICER IN CHARGE OF POLICE STATION
A police officer making an arrest without warrant shall, without unnecessary delay and subject to the provisions for bail, take or send the person arrested before Magistrate having jurisdiction of the case, or before the officer in charge of a police station.
In case of bailable offence, the police have the power to grant bail, but after the challans are filed in court, the accused person has to fill the prescribed bail bond in order to get regular bail from court.
A PERSON ARRESTED HAS A LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ENTITLEMENT to INFORM HIS RELATIONS THAT HE HAS BEEN DETAINED.
The police cannot keep any person arrested for any alleged offence for more than twenty-four hours. Within 24 hours, the police are legally duty-bound to produce the said arrested person before the nearest magistrate under whose jurisdiction the alleged offence has been committed. In case, the police fail to produce him within the prescribed period of 24 hours, the detention will amount to an illegal detention, and on moving a habeas corpus writ petition, he has to be set at liberty at once. There have been instances, where police have kept persons in their custody for more than 24 hours, and on filing a writ petition they have been ordered to be released.