Section 74: Warrants to whom directed
Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with the procedure and flexibility in the issue and execution of warrants of arrest. This is an important provision as it broadens the class of persons to whom warrants can be entrusted for execution, which provides greater flexibility and responsiveness in emergency or scarce resources situations.
Warrants of Arrest shall be addressed to one or more police officers. This is in conformance to Section 74, wherein law enforcers shall mainly perform the arrest, in accordance with their responsibility to maintain public order and enforce the law.
In case where immediate execution of the warrant is required and there are no police officers available to execute the warrant, the court shall direct the warrant to any other person or persons. The above provision therefore enlarges the scope of the people who may execute a warrant, this may facilitate faster action in urgent cases.
If the warrant is addressed to several persons, it can be executed by any one or more of them. It is not necessary for all persons to be present when the warrant is executed. This makes the execution of warrants efficient and pragmatic, in that the law is enforced even when all persons to whom the warrant is addressed are not available or present .
