Section 39 BNSS 2023: Arrest on Refusal to Give Name and Residence
Section 39 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with a limited power of arrest where a person involved in a non-cognizable offence refuses to disclose his true name or residence, or gives particulars that a police officer has reason to believe are false.
What is Section 39 BNSS?
Section 39 provides a specific procedure for identifying a person connected with a non-cognizable offence. The purpose of arrest under this provision is not punishment. It is to ascertain the person's true name or residence where the person refuses to provide those particulars or gives details that the police officer has reason to believe are false.
Key legal terms under Section 39
Non-cognizable offence: An offence for which a police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant, subject to the BNSS and other applicable law.
Reason to believe: A belief based on circumstances or material that gives the police officer a reasonable basis to consider the name or residence supplied to be false.
Bond: A formal undertaking to appear before a Magistrate if required.
Bail bond: A bond connected with release on bail and compliance with the conditions imposed for appearance before the competent authority or court.
Surety: A person who undertakes responsibility under the bail bond for compliance by the person released. Section 39 specifically requires resident-India sureties where the person concerned is not resident in India.
Text of Section 39 - Arrest on refusal to give name and residence
39. (1) When any person who, in the presence of a police officer, has committed or has been accused of committing a non-cognizable offence refuses on demand of such officer to give his name and residence or gives a name or residence which such officer has reason to believe to be false, he may be arrested by such officer in order that his name or residence may be ascertained.
(2) When the true name and residence of such person have been ascertained, he shall be released on a bond or bail bond, to appear before a Magistrate if so required:
Provided that if such person is not resident in India, the bail bond shall be secured by a surety or sureties resident in India.
(3) If the true name and residence of such person is not ascertained within twenty-four hours from the time of arrest or if he fails to execute the bond or bail bond, or, if so required, to furnish sufficient sureties, he shall forthwith be forwarded to the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction.
When can police arrest under Section 39?
The power arises only in the circumstances stated in subsection (1). The person must have committed, or have been accused of committing, a non-cognizable offence in the presence of a police officer, and must then refuse to provide his name and residence or provide particulars which the officer has reason to believe are false.
The arrest is expressly tied to the purpose of ascertaining the person's true name or residence.
What happens after the true name and residence are established?
Once the true name and residence are ascertained, subsection (2) requires release on a bond or bail bond to appear before a Magistrate if required. The section therefore contemplates release after identity and residence are satisfactorily established, subject to the bond requirements.
Special rule for a person not resident in India
The proviso to subsection (2) states that if the person is not resident in India, the bail bond must be secured by a surety or sureties resident in India. This is an additional statutory requirement applicable specifically to a non-resident person.
The twenty-four-hour rule
Under subsection (3), if the person's true name and residence are not ascertained within twenty-four hours from the time of arrest, the person must be forwarded forthwith to the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction.
The same consequence follows where the person fails to execute the required bond or bail bond or, where required, fails to furnish sufficient sureties.
Relationship with Section 35 BNSS
Section 35 BNSS generally provides that, subject to Section 39, a person concerned in a non-cognizable offence shall not be arrested except under a warrant or order of a Magistrate. Section 39 therefore operates as the specific statutory exception dealing with refusal or suspected falsity of name and residence in the circumstances stated in the section.
Related BNSS arrest provisions
Section 39 should also be read with Section 36 BNSS on procedure of arrest, Section 37 BNSS on designated police officers, Section 38 BNSS on access to an advocate during interrogation, and Section 40 BNSS on arrest by a private person.
Section 39 BNSS at a glance
- The provision concerns a non-cognizable offence.
- Arrest may be made where the person refuses to give name and residence or gives particulars reasonably believed to be false.
- The purpose of the arrest is to ascertain the person's true name or residence.
- After identity and residence are established, release must follow on a bond or bail bond, subject to the section.
- A person not resident in India must provide a bail bond secured by resident-India surety or sureties.
- If identity is not established within twenty-four hours, or the required bond or sureties are not furnished, the person must be forwarded to the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction.
Official legal resources
This page provides general legal information. Application of Section 39 in an individual case may depend on the precise facts, the nature of the alleged offence, compliance with arrest safeguards, bond requirements, and orders of the competent Magistrate.