Published on: November 29, 2023 at 12:28 IST
Court: Supreme Court of India
Citation: Priya Indoria V. State of Karnataka (2023)
Honourable Supreme Court of India has held that Section 48 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 allows Police to pursue an accused throughout the territory of India. However when a police arrests someone outside its jurisdiction then the police is obligated to secure the transit remand i.e. the remand of the accused by presenting accused before the Magistrate of the area from where the accused is arrested. It is submitted that the Magistrate of the area of the arrest is having powers to grant or refuse transit remand.
88. Section 48 of CrPC permits the police to pursue an accused in other jurisdictions. A police officer, for the purpose of arresting without a warrant, one whom he is allowed to arrest, may pursue an individual anywhere in India. Prior to effecting the arrest outside a particular jurisdiction, the police is obligated to secure the transit remand i.e. the remand of the accused, for taking him from one place to another in their own custody, usually for the purpose of producing him before the concerned magistrate who has jurisdiction to try/commit the case.
The primary purpose of such a remand is to enable the police to shift the person in custody from the place of arrest to the place where the matter can be investigated and tried. However in various cases, the police and investigating agencies have failed to exercise necessary restraint while functioning within their legal remit. It is for the aforesaid reason that an accused apprehending arrest seeks pre-arrest bail.
The Courts in India have to be vigilant about such applications being filed particularly when a person alleged to have committed an offence can be proceeded with by setting the criminal law in motion in a place other than the place where the offence has actually occurred. In such circumstances the Courts must balance the interest of the accused in the context of the salutary principle of access to justice which is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution as well as a Directive Principle of State Policy, especially Article 39(A). More importantly, it is a facet of Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees to every person in the country, equality before the law and equal protection of the law.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra