Inter-State Arrest Meaning and Guidelines by Delhi High Court – Indian Judiciary – Free PDF Download

Inter-State Arrest

Provisions Related to Arrest

• As per section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, a police officer can arrest a person without a warrant in several situation e.g. if the accused commits a Cognizable Offence.
• He can also arrest a person committing a non-cognizable offence if the person refuses to give his name and address of the residence.
• Similarly, Magistrates, either executive or judicial, can arrest a person if any offence is committed in their presence within their local jurisdiction. (s.44 CrPC)
• As per section 43 of the CrPC, even a private person can arrest any person who has committed a non-bailable and cognizable offence in front of him if no police officer is present anywhere near the offence scene.

Inter-State Arrest

• It’s a Concept under which the Police from one state Can Not Arrest or Interrogate an Accused in other state outside their Jurisdiction on their own.
• To Arrest the accused in Another State, the Police officer can request the Local Police of that state for Cooperation and Assistance.
• Only Local Police Arrests the Accused and Produce him in front of Magistrate.
• When the Magistrate issues a transit Warrant, then Only the accused is Given up to the custody of the Police of that State.
• In a 2009 judgement, the Delhi High Court had observed that the Gujarat Police had come all the way from Ahmedabad to Delhi, beyond their jurisdiction, did not seek any assistance from the local police and had taken away the accused to Gujarat – “Such practice is obviously contrary to the police manuals and if such actions go unchecked, it will amount to condoning lawlessness by the police force. In a country governed by the rule of law, this is simply unacceptable”.
• The High Court observed that the Gujarat police was bound to produce the accused before the nearest Magistrate who was in Delhi.

In the same case Delhi HC also stated-

• “Article 22 (2) of the Constitution prescribes that every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of the magistrate.
• Once, we have determined that the factum of picking up Shamim from Delhi amounted to his ‘arrest’ and detention in custody, albeit illegal, it became incumbent upon the officials of the Gujarat police to produce him before the nearest Magistrate within a period of 24 hours. The nearest Magistrate was located in Delhi, but, obviously, he was not produced before any such Magistrate in Delhi”

In Sandeep Kumar v State, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court laid down several guidelines for the police regarding inter-state arrest.

1. The Police Officer after assignment of the case to him, must seek prior permission/sanction of the higher/superior officers in writing or on phone (in case of urgency) to go out of State/UT to carry out investigation.
2. In cases where the police officer decides to arrest an accused in another state, he must write facts and reasons so as to satisfy why the arrest is necessary. The police officer must attempt to get an arrest or search warrant from the magistrate having jurisdiction. He can arrest an accused without a warrant only in case of emergency. And, in such cases, he must record compelling reasons to visit another state without getting an arrest or search warrant.
3.  Before going out of the state, the police officer must make a detailed departure entry in the Daily Diary (DD) of his Police Station containing the name of the police officials and private officials going with him; vehicle number; the purpose of visit; specific place(s) that is/are to be visited; time and date of departure.
4. A lady police officer should be made part of a team if the arrestee (the person to be arrested) is a female.
5. The police officers should have their identity cards with them, and they should be in uniform. And further, they should carry accurate, clear and visible name tags with their designations on them.
6. Before visiting the other state, the police officer must contact the local police in whose jurisdiction he has to conduct the investigation. And, he must carry translated copies of the FIR and other documents in the language of the state he is going to visit.
7. After reaching the destination, the police officer must seek assistance and cooperation from the concerned police station. The SHO must provide legal assistance to the other state’s police, and an entry for the same must be made at the said police station.
8. After reaching the place of investigation, the police officer must search if anyone is to be strictly conducted as per the guidelines given under section 100 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The police officer must make sure to assemble all the independent public witnesses from the neighbourhood.
9. The police officer must follow the procedure given under sections 41A, 41B, 50 & 51 of CrPC. And the process of arrest must be carried out keeping in mind the guidelines given in the DK Basu case, 1996 and the provisions of CrPC.
10. An opportunity to consult a lawyer must be given to the arrested person before he is taken out of the state.
11.  Before returning, the police officer must visit the local police station, and an entry in the Daily Diary must be made indicating the name of the persons being taken out of the state. Articles (things) must also be mentioned in the Daily Diary if any is recovered. And, the victim’s name must also be given.
12. Transit remand must be obtained after producing the arrestee in front of the nearest magistrate. And the arrestee must be produced in front of the magistrate before 24 hours.
13. The magistrate must grant transit remand after thinking psychologically and not mechanically.
14.  The arrested person must be informed of the grounds of arrest as soon as possible. The magistrate must ensure the arrested person is provided to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. Also, the magistrate should ask the arrested person whether he has been informed about the grounds of arrest and if he wants to consult a legal practitioner.
15.  Control rooms must be established in every district, and names and addresses of the persons arrested must be displayed along with the designations of the police officers who arrested them. And, the control rooms at the state level must obtain details of the persons that are arrested.
16. The police officer must form an arrest memo specifying the time and date of arrest and the name of the relative or friend to whom the information of arrest is given.
17.  If possible, the arrestee must be allowed to take his family member to remain with him till the time he is produced before the jurisdictional magistrate.
18. In any case, the arrested person must be produced at the earliest before the Jurisdictional Magistrate (within 24 hours of the arrest, excluding the time of the journey).
19. The police officer must make an arrival entry in the record after arriving at the police station. He must specify the investigation carried out by him, the persons arrested and the articles recovered in the entry.
20.  The arrest should be made under section 41(1)(b) of CrPC by the police officer when he has reasonable suspicion and credible information.
21.  Medical examination should be conducted at the earliest after the arrest so that the possibility of physical torture during the custody be avoided.
22. The police officer must maintain a detailed case diary with him specifying the investigations done by him.
23.  The vehicle logbook used for transportation must be maintained and signed by the police officer making the arrest.
24. The public prosecutor should provide the possible and required assistance to the police officer visiting his state during transit remand.
25.  For the speedy, smooth and effective inter-state investigation, guidelines of the exact nature should exist in all the states and union territories.
26.  To create awareness, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) or the state government should circulate the rules or guidelines or notification from time to time.
27. Periodically, training should be given to the police officers to sensitise them. (Sensitise means to cause someone to respond to certain stimuli; make sensitive.)
28.  The statement of the victim must be recorded at the earliest.
29. If the victim recovered is minor, they should be produced before the local Child Welfare Committee for a further decision concerning the custody. And, they must not be made to stay in the police station during the night hours.

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