“Arrest”

What is “Arrest”? How Arrest is made and under what circumstances an arrest can be made?

An arrest is the act of depriving people of their liberty, usually in relation to an investigation or prevention of a crime, and thus in detaining the arrested person in a procedure as part of the criminal Justice system.

Police and various other bodies have powers of arrest. In some places, the power is more general; for instance, any person can arrest “anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be committing, have committed or be guilty of committing an indictable offence,” although certain conditions must be met before taking such action.

Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898, provides that: when Police may arrest without warrant: 1- Any police-officer may, arrest without an order from magistrate and without warrant of arrest:-

A) Any person who has been concerned in any cognizable offence or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having been so concerned;

B) Any person having in his possession without lawful excuse, the onus of proving which excuse shall lie on such person, any implement of house-breaking;

C) Any person who has been proclaimed as an offender either under this code or by order of the Provincial Government;

D) Any person in whose possession anything is found which may reasonably be suspected to be stolen property and who may reasonably be suspected of having committed an offence with reference to such thing;

E) Any person who obstructs a police-officer while in the execution of his duty, or who has; escaped, or attempts to escape, from lawful custody;

F) Any person reasonably suspected of being a deserter from the armed forces of Pakistan;

G) Any person who has been concerned in, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having been concerned in, any committed at any place out of Pakistan, which if committed in Pakistan, would have been punishable as an offence and for which he is under any law relating to extradition or otherwise liable to be apprehended or detained in custody in Pakistan;

H) Any released convict committing a breach of any rule made under section 565, sub-section 3 ;

I) Any person for whose arrest a requisition has been received from another police officer, provided that the requisition specifies the person to be arrested and the offence or other cause for which the arrest is to be made and it appears wherefrom that person might lawfully be arrested without a warrant by the officer who issued the requisition.

Furthermore, the chapter 5-B of the Criminal Procedure Code sets down the manners and conditions in which the arrest takes place: Under Section 55, 1- Any officer In-charge of a police station may in like manner, arrest or cause to be arrested the Vagabonds, habitual robbers, etc. :-

A) Any person found taking precautions to conceal his presence within the limits of such station, under circumstances which afford reason to believe that he is taking such precautions with a views to committing a cognizable offence; or,

B) Any person within the limits of such station who has not ostensible means of subsistence who cannot give a satisfactory account of himself; or,

C) Any person who is by repute a habitual robber, housebreaker or thief, or a habitual receiver of stolen property, knowing it to be stolen or who by repute habitually commits extortion or in order to the committing of extortion habitually puts or attempts to put persons in fear of injury.

If a police officer deems fit for the purpose of arrest, may also depute and empower his subordinate on his behalf as the arrest is being made under section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.

Where any person, suspected in commission of crime of committed a crime in presence of police officer, and refuses to disclose his name and address, so required be arrested under section 57 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898. Further, be released on true disclosure of his name and address. Police officer may require sufficient sureties for his satisfaction and forward hi to the nearest magistrate having jurisdiction. Section 58 empowers, a police officer to pursuit for making arrest without warrant any person, required to be arrested, anywhere in Pakistan. Under section 59, in the absence of a police officer, a private person is also empowered to arrest any person who commits any non-bailable and cognizable offence, without any unnecessary delay, he shall hand over such arrested person to the officer in-charge of the nearest police station.

Section 61 provides that a person arrested, within 24 hours, be produced before the magistrate of competent jurisdiction, excluding the time of journey from the place of arrest and the court of magistrate. But the magistrate is empowered to custody the accused person for more than 24 for hours, if he deems fit and may make an order under section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 for the purpose of remand of the accused either judicial remand or police remand, not exceeding the 14 days.

Under section 64 of Cr.p.c; Magistrate may himself arrest or order any other person to arrest the person who commits any offence in his presence. Section 63 of the cr.pc provides that no person arrested, be released by a police officer, except on his own bond, bail or the order of the Magistrate. The Magistrate who is competent to arrest or direct any person for making arrest, at any time may direct that any person required to be arrested within his local limits be arrested or hi himself arrest such accused person under section 65 of cr.p.c.

The person who escaped from the arrest, he be arrested by anyone, even if the person arresting is not authorized person to arrest, at any place, anywhere in Pakistan, under section 66 of cr.p.c.

In chapter Number 13 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898, A police officer receiving information of a design to commit any cognizable offence, may arrest without orders of the magistrate and without warrant, the person so designing, if it appears that the commission of offence cannot be otherwise prevented.