CrPC Sections 79, 80 and 81: Warrant Outside Jurisdiction and Procedure After Arrest
Sections 79, 80 and 81 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 formed a connected procedure for executing an arrest warrant outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Court that issued it, dealing with the arrested person after execution, and deciding removal, security or bail before the local authority.
Section 79 CrPC - Warrant Directed to Police Officer for Execution Outside Jurisdiction
Section 79 prescribed how a warrant directed to a police officer was ordinarily to be executed beyond the local jurisdiction of the issuing Court. The object was to provide local endorsement and police assistance while also permitting immediate execution where obtaining endorsement would cause a delay likely to defeat the warrant.
Section 79(1): Local endorsement
Where the warrant was to be executed outside the issuing Court's local jurisdiction, the police officer was ordinarily required to take it for endorsement to an Executive Magistrate or to a police officer not below the rank of officer in charge of a police station within the jurisdiction where execution was sought.
Section 79(2): Authority and local police assistance
The endorsement of that Magistrate or police officer constituted sufficient authority for execution. The local police were required to assist the executing officer when such assistance was requested.
Section 79(3): Urgent execution without endorsement
If there was reason to believe that delay in obtaining local endorsement would prevent execution, the police officer to whom the warrant was directed could execute it outside the issuing Court's jurisdiction without obtaining that endorsement.
Section 80 CrPC - Procedure on Arrest of Person Against Whom Warrant Issued
Section 80 governed the next step when a warrant of arrest was executed outside the district in which it had been issued. Ordinarily, the arrested person had to be taken before the Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police within whose local jurisdiction the arrest was made.
This local-production requirement did not apply where the Court issuing the warrant was within 30 kilometres of the place of arrest or was nearer than the specified local authority, or where security had been taken under Section 71 CrPC.
Section 81 CrPC - Procedure Before Magistrate or Other Specified Authority
Section 81 dealt with the person arrested outside the district after that person was brought before the local Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police.
Identity and removal to the issuing Court
If the arrested person appeared to be the person intended by the Court that issued the warrant, the specified authority was to direct removal in custody to that Court.
Bailable offence or security endorsed on warrant
If the offence was bailable and the arrested person was ready and willing to furnish bail to the satisfaction of the authority, bail was to be taken and the bond forwarded to the issuing Court. The same principle applied where a direction under Section 71 was endorsed on the warrant and the person was ready and willing to furnish the required security.
Non-bailable offence
For a non-bailable offence, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, subject to Section 437 CrPC, or the Sessions Judge of the district where the arrest was made could consider release on bail on the basis of the information and documents referred to in Section 78(2) CrPC.
Security under Section 71
Section 81(2) clarified that nothing in Section 81 prevented a police officer from taking security under Section 71 CrPC.
How Sections 79, 80 and 81 Worked Together
The provisions operated sequentially. Section 79 dealt with execution by a police officer outside the issuing Court's jurisdiction. Section 80 prescribed where the arrested person should ordinarily be taken after an out-of-district arrest. Section 81 then governed identification, removal to the issuing Court, acceptance of bail or security, and the limited local consideration of bail in a non-bailable case.
Related CrPC Provisions
These sections should be read with Sections 70, 71 and 72 CrPC on the form of warrant, security and persons to whom warrants may be directed, Sections 73, 74 and 75 CrPC on direction and notification of warrants, and Sections 76, 77 and 78 CrPC on prompt production, territorial execution and forwarding of warrants outside jurisdiction.
This page explains the statutory scheme for general legal information. The applicable procedural law depends on the date and nature of the proceeding.