Sections 58, 59, 60 and 60A CrPC: Reporting Arrests, Discharge and Retaking an Escapee
Sections 58 to 60A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 formed part of the statutory safeguards and procedures governing arrest before implementation of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. They dealt with reporting arrests without warrant, the lawful modes of discharging an arrested person, immediate pursuit and retaking of a person who escaped from lawful custody, and the requirement that every arrest conform to law.
Overview of Sections 58, 59, 60 and 60A CrPC
| CrPC provision | Subject | Corresponding BNSS provision |
|---|---|---|
| Section 58 | Police to report apprehensions | Section 59 |
| Section 59 | Discharge of person apprehended | Section 60 |
| Section 60 | Power, on escape, to pursue and retake | Section 61 |
| Section 60A | Arrest to be made strictly according to the Code | Section 62 |
Section 58 CrPC - Police to report apprehensions
Meaning and scope: Section 58 required the officer in charge of a police station to report cases of persons arrested without warrant within the limits of that police station to the District Magistrate, or, where the District Magistrate so directed, to the Sub-divisional Magistrate. The reporting obligation applied whether the arrested person had been admitted to bail or not.
The provision therefore created a supervisory reporting mechanism over arrests made without warrant. The fact that an arrested person was released on bail did not remove the duty to report the arrest.
Section 59 CrPC - Discharge of person apprehended
Meaning and scope: Section 59 restricted the manner in which a person arrested by a police officer could be discharged from custody. Discharge could take place on the person's own bond, on bail, or under a special order of a Magistrate.
The section prevented informal or unauthorized discharge from police custody and required the release of an arrested person to rest on one of the legally recognized grounds specified by the Code.
Section 60 CrPC - Power, on escape, to pursue and retake
Meaning and scope: Where a person in lawful custody escaped or was rescued, Section 60(1) permitted the person from whose custody the escape or rescue occurred to pursue and arrest that person immediately at any place in India.
Under Section 60(2), the provisions of Section 47 CrPC, dealing with search of a place entered by a person sought to be arrested, applied to such an arrest even where the person making the arrest was not acting under a warrant and was not a police officer otherwise having authority to arrest.
The provision depended on the custody being lawful. Its purpose was to permit immediate pursuit and restoration of lawful custody without requiring a fresh warrant merely because the escapee crossed local jurisdictional limits.
Section 60A CrPC - Arrest to be made strictly according to the Code
Meaning and scope: Section 60A provided that no arrest could be made except in accordance with the CrPC or another law for the time being in force that provided for arrest. It reinforced the principle that the power to arrest must have a lawful source and must be exercised according to the procedure prescribed by law.
Section 60A was inserted with effect from 31 December 2009. Its corresponding provision under the BNSS is Section 62, which requires arrest to be made in accordance with the Sanhita or another law providing for arrest.
Position after commencement of BNSS
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. For current criminal procedure, the corresponding provisions should ordinarily be read in the BNSS: Section 59 for reporting apprehensions, Section 60 for discharge of an arrested person, Section 61 for pursuit and retaking after escape or rescue, and Section 62 for the requirement that arrest be made according to law.
There are limited drafting changes. In particular, BNSS Section 60 uses the expressions "bond" and "bail bond", while BNSS Section 61 refers to Section 44 of the BNSS in place of the reference in CrPC Section 60(2) to Section 47 CrPC.
Practical legal significance
Taken together, these provisions reflected a structured chain of legal control over arrest: warrantless arrests had to be reported, release from custody had to occur through a legally recognized mode, an escapee from lawful custody could be immediately pursued and retaken, and the arrest itself had to be authorized and carried out according to law.
This page is a general legal information resource. For a current matter, the applicable statute, commencement date, repeal and savings provisions, and facts of the proceeding should be checked before relying on a section number.