Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WARRANT
WARRANT
On
Of
BY : TO:
Porush Jain Dr. Anju Chowdary
Roll No. : 209/19
B.Com.LL.B(Hons)-D
Sem. : 5th
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Acknowledgment
Porush Jain
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Table of Cases
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Index
4. Duties of Officer 10
7. Conclusion 15
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Introduction to WARRANT
The term warrant is not defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure. As per
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. Such direction may be
of several kinds such as to arrest, to search, to receive an accused into
custody, to direct to produce an accused/prisoner before the Court issuing the
directions or before the superior court for trial. Section 2(x) of CrPC,1973
states Warrant Case as a case relating to an offence punishable with death,
imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term exceeding two years. A
Warrant of arrest is a written order issued and signed by a Magistrate and
addressed to a police officer or some other person specially named and
commanding him to arrest the body of the accused person named in it.
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Forms and Contents of Warrant of Arrest
As per Sec. 70 of Cr.P.C., every warrant of arrest issued by the court shall
be signed by the Presiding Officer of such court and shall bear seal of the court
and every such warrant shall remain in force until it is canceled by the court
which issued or until it is executed. A warrant of arrest is written authority
given by a competent Magistrate for the arrest of a person. The warrant of arrest
must be in writing and must have been signed and sealed by a magistrate or a
court. It must clearly mention the name and other particulars of the person to be
arrested and must specify the offence with which he is charged. In case of State
Vs. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar,1 the supreme court held that, even in the course
of investigation and before taking the cognizance of the case warrant can be
issued.
Form 2 of The Second Schedule of Cr.P.C, 1973 give the form of warrant of
arrest
To ……… (name and designation of the person or persons who is or are to execute
the warrant).
WHEREAS (name of accused) of (address) stands charged with the offence of
……… (state the offence), you are hereby directed to arrest the said ……… and to
produce him before me. Herein fail not.
Dated, this ……… day of ………, 20 ………
(Seal of the Court)
(Signature)2
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Types of Warrant
There are basicly three types of Warrant Bailable warrant, Non Bailable
Warrant and transit warrant
1. Bailable Warrant means the warrant has been ordered to be issued and when
the warrant is executed, the accused will not be arrested and released on bail.
The condition like surety etc are already given in the order. this is done to
compel the accused to appear in court on next date of hearing. Sec. 71 deals
with bailable warrants. As per Sec. 71 any court issuing a warrant for the arrest
of any person may in its discretion direct by an endorsement on the warrant
that if such person executes a bond with sufficient sureties for his attendance
before the court at a specified time and thereafter until otherwise directed by
the court, the officer to whom the warrant is directed shall take such security
and shall release such person from custody. The endorsement shall state the
number of sureties, amount in which they and the person for whose arrest
warrant issued, are to be respectively bound, the time at which he is to attend
before the court. Whenever security is taken under this section, the officer
whom warrant is directed shall forward the bond to the court.
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2. Non-bailable warrant is other than the bailable warrant. Section 73, which
appears in the said Chapter, deals with issue of warrants against persons. Sub-
section (1) of Section 73 provides that the Chief Judicial Magistrate or a
Magistrate of the First Class may direct a warrant to any person within his
local jurisdiction for the arrest of any escaped convict, proclaimed offender or
of any person who is accused of a non bailable offence and most importantly
evading arrest. Subsection (3) of Section 73 provides that, when the person
against whom such warrant is issued is arrested, he shall be made 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. The issuance of non-bailable warrants involves interference with
personal liberty. Arrest and imprisonment means deprivation of the most
precious right of an individual. Therefore, the courts have to be extremely
careful before issuing non-bailable warrants.3 In the case of Indra Mohan
Gowswamy and Anr . V. State of Uttaranchal 4 the Hon'ble Apex court held
that Nonbailable warrant normally not to be issued if presence of accused
could be secured. The Hon'ble Apex court further held that nonbailable warrant
should be issued to bring the person to court when summons and bailable
warrant would be unlikely to have the desired result. This could be
reasonable to believe that the person willing to appear in court or the Police
authorities are unable to find the person to serve him with summons or it is
considered that the person could harm some one if not placed into custody
immediately. The Hon'ble Apex court held that some times in the larger interest
of the public and the State it becomes absolutely imperative to curtail the
freedom of individual for a certain period, only then nonbailable warrants
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should be issued.
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Duties of Officers
1. Present the warrant to the person : Section 72 of the Cr.P.C,1973 states that
the warrant shall be issued to one or more officers who shall be executed by one
or both. But the court may issue a warrant if its immediate execution is
necessary and no police officer is immediate available so court may direct it to
any other person or persons and it is duty of that person to execute the same as
soon as possible.
2. To tell the reason for Warrant: Section 73 of the Cr.P.C, states that it is the
duty of officer who is executing the warrant to notify the substance thereof to
the person to be arrested, and if so required, shall show him warrant.
3. Presenting the accused: Sec.76 provides the Police Officer executing the
warrant shall produce the arrested person immediately not exceeding 24
hours beforethe Magistrate. The Police Officer executing the warrants shall
communicate the substance of warrant to the said person or show warrant to
him. The warrants are executable throughout the India6. The twenty four hours
exclude the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the
Magistrate’s Court.
6 Section 74 of Cr.P.C,1973
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Execution of Warrants outside Jurisdiction
Section 78(2) impose duty to the court that 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 acting under section 81 to decide whether the
bail should or should not be granted to the person.
Section 79 dealt with the warrant which is directed to police officer for
execution of warrant outside the jurisdiction. Section 79(1) states that When a
warrant directed to a police officer is to be executed beyond the local
jurisdiction of the Court issuing the same, the police officer shall ordinarily
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take it for endorsement either to an Executive Magistrate or to a police
officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station, within
the local limits of whose jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed.
Section 79(2) provides that such executive magistrate or police officer shall
endorse the name of that police officer to whom the warrant was directed to
execute the same and the local police shall, if required assist the police officer
to execute that warrant. If there is reason to believe that the delay occasioned
by obtaining the endorsement of the Magistrate or police officer within whose
local jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed will prevent such execution, the
police officer to whom it is directed may execute the same without such
endorsement in any place beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court which
issued it.7
3. Procedure on arrest
Section 80 of Cr.P.C,1973 states that when a warrant of arrest is executed
outside the district in which it was issued, the person arrested shall, be taken
before such Magistrate or District Superintendent or Commissioner in which
jurisdiction is arrested. But there are some exception to it
1. The Court which issued the warrant is within thirty kilometres of the place of
arrest
2. The place of arrest is nearer than the Executive Magistrate or District
Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police within the local limits of
whose jurisdiction the arrest was made
3.Security is taken under section 71 or person released on bail
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4. Procedure by Magistrate
Section 81 of Cr.P.C,1973 states that The Executive Magistrate or District
Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police shall, if the person arrested
appears to be the person intended by the Court which issued the warrant, direct
his removal in custody to such Court.
It shall be lawful for the Chief Judicial Magistrate, or the Sessions Judge, of
the district in which the arrest is made on consideration of the information and
the documents referred to in sub-section (2) of section 78, to release such
person on bail.
In the case of Arun Kumar V. State of NCT of Delhi 8 the court held that in the
context of Section 78(2) and second provision of Section 81 the law hasn’t
chosen to give any such enabling power to grant bail to courts other than one
having jurisdiction over the area of commission of offence.
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In the case of Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin Vs. State of
Maharashtra and another9 the apex court issued some guideline which
subordinate courts have to follow while issuing Non-Bailable Warrant that:
1. Use printed and machine numbered Form No. 2 for issuing warrant of arrest
2. The court must ensure that complete particulars of the case are mentioned
on the warrant
3. The presiding Judge of the court issuing the warrant should put his full
and legible signatures on the process also ensuring that Court seal bearing
complete particulars of the Court is prominently endorsed thereon.
4. The Court must ensure that warrant is directed to a particular police officer
and, it must be returnable whether executed or unexecuted, on or before the
date specified therein
5. Every Court must maintain a register in which each warrant of arrest issued
must be entered chronologically and the serial number
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Conclusion
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