Section 37 of the Arms Act, 1959: Arrest and Searches
Section 37 of the Arms Act, 1959 governs the procedure for arrests and searches made under the Act or its rules and also explains what must happen when a person other than a magistrate or police officer arrests a person or seizes arms or ammunition under the Act.
Save as otherwise provided in this Act,-
(a) all arrests and searches made under this Act or under any rules made thereunder shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), relating respectively to arrests and searches made under that Code;
(b) any person arrested and any arms or ammunition seized under this Act by a person not being a magistrate or a police officer shall be delivered without delay to the officer in charge of the nearest police station and that officer shall-
(i) either release that person on his executing a bond with or without sureties to appear before a magistrate and keep the things seized in his custody till the appearance of that person before the magistrate, or
(ii) should that person fail to execute the bond and to furnish, if so required, sufficient sureties, produce that person and those things without delay before the magistrate.
The statutory text of Section 37 still refers to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 repealed the CrPC through Section 531, subject to its savings provisions. Accordingly, current proceedings should be considered with the BNSS and its corresponding arrest and search provisions, while matters saved by Section 531 may continue under the CrPC, 1973.
What Section 37 means
Section 37 is primarily procedural. It does not itself define a separate Arms Act offence. Instead, it regulates how arrests and searches under the Arms Act are to be carried out and how an arrested person and seized arms or ammunition are to be handled when the arrest or seizure is made by someone who is neither a magistrate nor a police officer.
| Part of Section 37 | Legal effect |
|---|---|
| Opening words | The section applies "save as otherwise provided" in the Arms Act, so a specific Arms Act procedure will prevail where the Act provides one. |
| Clause (a) | Arrests and searches under the Arms Act or its rules must follow the applicable criminal procedure governing arrests and searches. |
| Clause (b) | If a non-magistrate and non-police person makes the arrest or seizure, the arrested person and seized arms or ammunition must be delivered without delay to the nearest police station. |
| Clause (b)(i) | The police officer may release the person on a bond, with or without sureties, to appear before a magistrate and keep the seized items in custody until that appearance. |
| Clause (b)(ii) | If the required bond or sufficient sureties are not furnished, the person and seized items must be produced without delay before the magistrate. |
Arrests and searches under the Arms Act
Clause (a) connects Arms Act arrests and searches with the general criminal procedure governing such actions, except where the Arms Act itself provides a different procedure. This helps ensure that powers exercised under the Arms Act remain subject to the procedural safeguards and requirements applicable to arrest and search.
Delivery to the nearest police station
Clause (b) specifically applies when the person making the arrest or seizure is not a magistrate or police officer. In such a case, both the arrested person and any arms or ammunition seized must be delivered without delay to the officer in charge of the nearest police station.
Bond, sureties and appearance before a magistrate
After receiving the arrested person and seized articles, the officer in charge of the police station has two statutory courses. The person may be released on executing a bond, with or without sureties, for appearance before a magistrate, or, if the required bond and sureties are not furnished, the person and seized items must be produced without delay before the magistrate.
CrPC reference and the BNSS, 2023
The bare text of Section 37 continues to contain the historical reference to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Since the CrPC was repealed by Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, current application of the procedural reference should be read with the BNSS and its repeal-and-savings framework.
The savings clause is important because appeals, applications, trials, inquiries and investigations that were pending immediately before commencement of the BNSS may continue under the CrPC, 1973 in accordance with Section 531.
Legislative history
The reference in Section 37 was substituted by Act 25 of 1983 with effect from 22 June 1983. At that time, the reference to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 was replaced by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Related Arms Act provisions
This page reproduces the statutory wording of Section 37 and provides a general explanation of its operation in the current criminal procedure framework. Application depends on the facts, the underlying Arms Act provision and the applicable procedural law.