Section 81 BNSS: Warrant Directed to Police Officer for Execution Outside Jurisdiction
Section 81 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 lays down the procedure when a warrant directed to a police officer has to be executed beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court that issued the warrant.
Section 81 BNSS - Bare Act Text
81. Warrant directed to police officer for execution outside jurisdiction.
(1) When a warrant directed to a police officer is to be executed beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court issuing the same, he shall ordinarily take it for endorsement either to an Executive Magistrate or to a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed.
(2) Such Magistrate or police officer shall endorse his name thereon and such endorsement shall be sufficient authority to the police officer to whom the warrant is directed to execute the same, and the local police shall, if so required, assist such officer in executing such warrant.
(3) Whenever there is reason to believe that the delay occasioned by obtaining the endorsement of the Magistrate or police officer within whose local jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed will prevent such execution, the police officer to whom it is directed may execute the same without such endorsement in any place beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court which issued it.
Meaning and Scope of Section 81 BNSS
Section 81 applies where the warrant has been issued by a Court to a police officer, but the person or place connected with its execution is outside the issuing Court's local jurisdiction. The provision creates the ordinary procedure for obtaining local endorsement and also provides an exception where delay could defeat execution of the warrant.
1. Ordinary requirement of local endorsement
Under sub-section (1), the police officer should ordinarily take the warrant for endorsement to either an Executive Magistrate or a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station within the jurisdiction where the warrant is to be executed.
2. Effect of endorsement and local police assistance
Under sub-section (2), the endorsement of the Executive Magistrate or competent police officer is sufficient authority for execution. The local police must also assist the executing officer if assistance is required.
3. Urgent execution without endorsement
Sub-section (3) creates an exception to the ordinary endorsement procedure. If there is reason to believe that the time required to obtain the local endorsement would prevent execution of the warrant, the police officer may execute it outside the issuing Court's jurisdiction without first obtaining that endorsement.
Key Points
- The section concerns a warrant directed to a police officer.
- It applies when execution is required outside the local jurisdiction of the Court issuing the warrant.
- Local endorsement is the ordinary procedure, not an absolute requirement in every situation.
- The endorsement may be given by an Executive Magistrate or by a police officer of the prescribed minimum rank.
- Local police assistance can be required for execution.
- In an urgent case, the warrant may be executed without endorsement if the delay involved in obtaining endorsement is likely to prevent execution.
Section 81 BNSS and the Earlier CrPC Provision
Section 81 BNSS substantially carries forward the subject previously dealt with by Section 79 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. For proceedings governed by the BNSS, the current provision is Section 81 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Section 81 of the BNSS provide?
It prescribes how a warrant directed to a police officer may be executed beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court that issued it, including the ordinary endorsement procedure and the urgent-execution exception.
Who may endorse the warrant?
The warrant may ordinarily be taken for endorsement to an Executive Magistrate or to a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station within the local jurisdiction where execution is required.
Can local police be required to assist?
Yes. Section 81(2) states that the local police shall assist the executing officer if such assistance is required.
When can a warrant be executed without endorsement?
Where there is reason to believe that the delay caused by obtaining endorsement would prevent execution of the warrant, the officer to whom it is directed may execute it outside the issuing Court's jurisdiction without that endorsement.
Official Legal Source
For the authoritative Act text and current legislative information, refer to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code.