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You need to know your rights:- If police come to your door for arrest

The term arrest means seizing someone by legal authority and taking them into custody. The police have the right to arrest a person with and without a warrant. It is imperative that such person must know their rights at the time of the arrest.

LawzGrid 12 Stories

Thursday August 24, 2017 , 4 min Read

At the time of arrest, you still have the following rights:

• Right to know the reason for arrest

You have the right to enquire why you are being arrested and under what law. Section 50 of the CrPC empowers every person to enquire about the reason for their arrest and also the law pertaining to the same. The person arrested should be informed whether his offence is bailable or non-bailable.

• Right to view the warrant

If a person is arrested for a non-cognizable offence, i.e. if a warrant arrest is made. Then under section 70 of CrPC, he has the right to view the contents of the warrant.

• Right to remain silent/Right against self-incrimination

You have the right to remain silent. The police are supposed to expressly inform you that anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. Even though confessions made in police custody are not admissible in court but they still give the police a leverage over the alleged criminal.

• Right To inform a family member/ friend

The arrested person has the right to inform a family member, a relative or friend of his arrest. This right is inferred by section 50 of CrPC.

• Right to legal aid

Section 41 D and 303 of CrPC provide an arrested person with the right to seek a legal counsel of his choice.

• Right to medical examination:

An arrested person has the right to be medically examined when he is taken into custody, in order to prove that he has not committed the offence that he has been accused of.

• Right against illegal detention:

All arrested person must be presented in front of the magistrate within 24 working hours of arrest.

• Right against being handcuffed:

Unless there is an apprehension of absconding, the person arrested has the right to ask the police not to handcuff him.

• Females cannot be arrested before sunrise and after sunset:

Section 46 (4) of Code of Criminal Procedure

“No women shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, except in exceptional circumstances, where the woman police officer shall make a written report, obtain the prior permission of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class within whose local jurisdiction the offence is committed or the arrest is to be made.”

According to Supreme Court Guidelines, no woman can be arrested in the night. Furthermore, if a woman needs to be arrested on urgent grounds during the night, the police must procure a permission from the Magistrate stating the reason for the urgency of arrest. Section 46 (4) of Code of Criminal Procedure “No women shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, except in exceptional circumstances, where the woman police officer shall make a written report, obtain the prior permission of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class within whose local jurisdiction the offense is committed or the arrest is to be made.”

Section 46 (4) of Code of Criminal Procedure “No women shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, except in exceptional circumstances, where the woman police officer shall make a written report, obtain the prior permission of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class within whose local jurisdiction the offense is committed or the arrest is to be made.”

• Females can only be arrested in the presence of a female police officer

The presence of a female police officer is imperative in case of an arrest of a woman. Section 46(1) of Code of Criminal Procedure states that, unless the police officer is a female, the police officer shall not touch the woman for making her arrest”