Section 77: Notification of substance of warrant
Section 77 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 makes critical provisions related to the issuance of arrest warrants by police officers or other empowered people. The objective of this section is to improve transparency and accountability in the arrest process so that rights of citizens are not violated but protected.
The arresting police officer or anyone carrying out the arrest warrant must notify the person to be arrested of the substance of the warrant. This simply means that the executing officer has to clearly explain to the person the charges or the legal cause for his arrest. The individual should be given notice of the basis upon which the warrant has been issued, such that the arrest is valid and based on legal grounds .
When the arrested person wishes, the arresting officer must provide the real warrant to the individual. This allows the arrested individual to confirm whether their arrest is legitimate. It allows
the person to see the basis of law under which he or she was arrested and then check whether such an arrest adheres to the law .
The responsibility of informed duty to notify rests with the executing officer as they are supposed to inform the arrested person about the substance of the warrant. It is the reason why communication becomes an important factor in the process of arrest, and people know about their legal position. This, in turn, ensures that law enforcement officers do not perform acts that may harm the rights of citizens at the time of arrests .
Important points:
-Transparency of law enforcement in disclosing the content of the warrant serves to establish transparency on law enforcement matters. This element is crucial to create public trust for police action and to assure arrest procedures under conditions of responsibility and justice.
-The provision that allows the person being arrested to request and view the warrant provides an important safeguard against arbitrary arrests. It ensures that individuals are informed of the legal grounds for their detention, thus preventing unlawful detention and reinforcing the principle of due process.
-Police officers must operate strictly by these guidelines as failure to do so often raises the legal issues of the validity of the arrest. Lack of proper notification or refusal to show the warrant upon request gives the arrested person a legal case against the authorities, undermining the legitimacy of the law enforcement action.
