Your Rights After Arrest: A Checklist Under BNSS vs CrPC

An arrested person in India has a defined set of statutory rights from the moment of arrest through production before a Magistrate. Sections 36 to 58 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) carry forward this rights bundle from the corresponding CrPC provisions almost intact, while adding a duty to designate a police officer (not below Assistant Sub-Inspector) in every district and every police station to maintain arrest information, displayed in every police station and at district headquarters — where Section 41C CrPC required display only on the notice board outside the district control rooms.

The situation

A person has just been arrested and wants to know, in order, what the police are legally required to do and tell them -- and what they are entitled to ask for -- between the moment of arrest and being produced before a Magistrate.

Old law vs new law at a glance

What the law requires now, step by step

Step 1 -- Told the grounds of arrest and the right to bail

Section 47 BNSS:

"(1) Every police officer or other person arresting any person without warrant shall forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest."

Section 47(2) adds that where the offence is not non-bailable, the officer must inform the person they are entitled to be released on bail and may arrange sureties.

Step 2 -- Someone is informed of the arrest

Section 48(1) BNSS requires the police to "forthwith give the information regarding such arrest and place where the arrested person is being held to any of his relatives, friends or such other persons as may be disclosed or nominated by the arrested person," and also to the designated police officer in the district. Section 48(4) makes it the Magistrate's duty, on production of the arrested person, to satisfy themselves that the requirements of Section 48(2) (informing the arrested person of this right on being brought to the police station) and Section 48(3) (entry in the police station book of who was informed) were complied with.

Step 3 -- Right to meet an advocate during interrogation

Section 38 BNSS: "When any person is arrested and interrogated by the police, he shall be entitled to meet an advocate of his choice during interrogation, though not throughout interrogation." This is the same right, in the same words, as Section 41D CrPC.

Step 4 -- Arrest memo, officer identification, witness attestation

Section 36 BNSS requires every arresting officer to bear a visible name identification, to prepare a memorandum of arrest attested by at least one witness (a family member or a respectable local resident) and countersigned by the arrested person, and to inform the arrested person of the right to have a relative, a friend or any other person named by them informed of the arrest, unless the memorandum is already attested by a family member. Section 41B(c) CrPC referred only to "a relative or a friend".

Step 5 -- Medical examination rights

Three related provisions apply depending on the situation. Section 51 BNSS allows a registered medical practitioner, acting at the request of "any police officer," to examine an arrested person where the examination may afford evidence of the offence -- and requires a female to be examined only by, or under the supervision of, a female registered medical practitioner (Section 51(2)). Section 52 BNSS provides an equivalent, more detailed examination procedure specifically for a person arrested on a charge of rape or an attempt to commit rape. Section 53 BNSS separately requires every arrested person to be examined "by a medical officer in the service of the Central Government or a State Government," or a registered medical practitioner if one is not available, "soon after the arrest is made," with a record of any injuries or marks of violence.

Step 6 -- Health and safety in custody

Section 56 BNSS: "It shall be the duty of the person having the custody of an accused to take reasonable care of the health and safety of the accused." Identical to Section 55A CrPC.

Step 7 -- Production before a Magistrate without unnecessary delay

Section 57 BNSS requires a police officer making an arrest without warrant to take or send the arrested person before a Magistrate having jurisdiction, or before the officer in charge of a police station, "without unnecessary delay."

Step 8 -- Not detained beyond twenty-four hours

Section 58 BNSS sets the outer limit on police custody without a Magistrate's order:

No police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without warrant for a longer period than under all the circumstances of the case is reasonable, and such period shall not, in the absence of a special order of a Magistrate under section 187, exceed twenty-four hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate's Court, whether having jurisdiction or not.

The rule is the same as Section 57 CrPC, with two drafting changes: the cross-reference now points to Section 187 BNSS in place of Section 167 CrPC, and the closing phrase "whether having jurisdiction or not" has been added after "the Magistrate's Court", so the excluded journey time is time to reach the Magistrate's Court whether or not that court has jurisdiction. (Text read from the official Gazette of India publication of the BNSS, CG-DL-E-25122023-250884.)

Step 9 -- Designated officer and public display of arrest information

Section 37 BNSS requires the State Government to establish a police control room in every district and at State level, and to designate a police officer -- not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector -- in every district and every police station, responsible for maintaining information about arrested persons' names, addresses and the nature of the offence, "prominently displayed in any manner including in digital mode in every police station and at the district headquarters."

What changed -- and what did not

• Identical in substance: the arrest-memo and officer-identification duty (Section 36 BNSS / Section 41B CrPC, save that Section 36(c) adds "or any other person" named by the arrested person), the right to meet an advocate during interrogation (Section 38 BNSS / Section 41D CrPC), being told the grounds of arrest and bail entitlement (Section 47 BNSS / Section 50 CrPC), the health-and-safety duty in custody (Section 56 BNSS / Section 55A CrPC), and production before a Magistrate without unnecessary delay (Section 57 BNSS / Section 56 CrPC).
• Modified: Section 37 BNSS adds a designated police officer (not below Assistant Sub-Inspector) in every district and every police station — Section 41C CrPC had no designated officer — and moves display of arrest information from the notice board outside district control rooms to every police station and district headquarters, expressly permitting digital mode. Section 37 does not carry forward Section 41C's display of the name and designation of the arresting officers or the State-level database.
• Modified: Section 51(1) BNSS allows "any police officer" to request a medical examination of an arrested person, where Section 53(1) CrPC required the request to come from an officer "not below the rank of sub-inspector." Section 51's Explanation in BNSS also now defines "registered medical practitioner" by reference to the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, replacing the CrPC's reference to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
• Renumbered, one change: the rape-specific medical examination procedure moves from Section 53A CrPC to Section 52 BNSS without material change to its examination steps, but — as with Section 51 — the request may now come from "any police officer", where Section 53A(1) CrPC required an officer not below the rank of a sub-inspector.
• Minor edit: the twenty-four-hour limit (Section 57 CrPC → Section 58 BNSS) is unchanged in substance; the remand cross-reference moves to Section 187 BNSS and "whether having jurisdiction or not" is added.

Which law applies to your case

If an appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation was pending immediately before the BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024, Section 531(2)(a) BNSS requires it to be disposed of, continued, held or made in accordance with the CrPC as if the BNSS had not come into force. The complete transition rule is set out in Which Law Applies to an Offence Before 1 July 2024; this article does not restate it beyond that reference.

Practical checklist

For the person affected or their family:

• Look for the arresting officer's name identification (Section 36(a) BNSS) and ask for the full particulars of the offence or other grounds of arrest -- communicating them is a duty under Section 47(1) BNSS, not a favour.
• Nominate a relative, friend or any other person to be informed of the arrest and where you are held, under Section 48(1) BNSS.
• Ask to meet an advocate of your choice during interrogation, under Section 38 BNSS.
• Ask whether a medical examination has been arranged; Section 53(3) BNSS requires a copy of the report to be furnished to you or your nominee.
• Note the exact time of arrest, to track compliance with production-before-Magistrate and detention-limit requirements.

For the advocate:

• Check the arrest memo for the attesting-witness and countersignature requirements under Section 36 BNSS.
• Verify that the designated police officer in the district was informed under Section 48(1) BNSS, and that the Magistrate satisfied themselves under Section 48(4) that the Section 48(2) and 48(3) requirements were complied with.
• For a medical-examination irregularity, confirm which officer requested it -- Section 51(1) BNSS no longer requires sub-inspector rank, so a rank-based objection available under the old Section 53(1) CrPC is no longer available.
• Track the time between arrest and production before a Magistrate against Section 57 BNSS's "without unnecessary delay" standard, and flag any detention approaching or exceeding twenty-four hours for scrutiny under Section 58 read with Section 187 BNSS.

Frequently asked questions

What is the first thing police must tell me when I am arrested?

Under Section 47(1) BNSS, the police officer must forthwith communicate to you the full particulars of the offence for which you are arrested, or other grounds for the arrest -- the same duty that existed under Section 50(1) CrPC. Section 47(2) BNSS also requires the officer to tell you that you are entitled to be released on bail, if the offence is not non-bailable.

Can I insist that someone be informed of my arrest?

Yes. Section 48(1) BNSS requires the police to forthwith inform a relative, friend or any other person you nominate about your arrest and where you are being held, and to also inform the designated police officer in the district -- continuing Section 50A CrPC, with the designated-officer notification added.

Can I meet a lawyer while being questioned by police?

Yes. Section 38 BNSS entitles an arrested person to meet an advocate of their choice during interrogation, though not throughout it -- identical wording to Section 41D CrPC.

How long can I be held before being produced before a Magistrate?

Section 57 BNSS requires the police to take or send an arrested person before a Magistrate or the officer in charge of a police station without unnecessary delay. Section 58 BNSS bars the police from detaining a person arrested without warrant for longer than is reasonable, and in any case beyond twenty-four hours (excluding travel time to the Magistrate's Court) unless a Magistrate makes a special order under Section 187 BNSS.

Do I have a right to a medical examination after arrest?

Yes. Section 53 BNSS requires every arrested person to be examined by a medical officer, or a registered medical practitioner if one is not available, soon after arrest, with a record made of any injuries -- continuing Section 54 CrPC.

Related on Veritect

• Police Sent You a Notice to Appear? Section 41A CrPC vs Section 35 BNSS
• Arrest of Women and Senior Citizens: BNSS vs CrPC
• Handcuffing and Use of Force During Arrest -- Section 43 BNSS
• Which Law Applies to an Offence Before 1 July 2024
• Section 41 CrPC vs Section 35 BNSS -- Arrest Without Warrant
• Section 167 CrPC -- Remand and Default Bail
• Section 50 CrPC vs Section 47 BNSS — Grounds of Arrest and Informing a Relative (CrPC 50-50A)
• Section 53 CrPC vs Section 51 BNSS — Medical Examination of the Accused (CrPC 53, 53A, 54)
• Sections 41C and 43 CrPC vs Sections 37 and 40 BNSS — Designated Police Officer, Control Rooms and Arrest by a Private Person
• Section 304 CrPC vs Section 341 BNSS — Legal Aid to Accused at State Expense

Statutory sources

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 -- Section 36, Section 37, Section 38, Section 47, Section 48, Section 51, Section 52, Section 53, Section 56, Section 57, Section 58, Section 187 (cross-reference only), Section 531 (read from BNSS_2023.md; Sections 53(3) and 58 from the official Gazette of India text, CG-DL-E-25122023-250884)
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 -- Section 41B, Section 41C, Section 41D, Section 50, Section 50A, Section 53, Section 53A, Section 54, Section 55A, Section 56, Section 57 (read from CrPC_1973.md)

This guide explains the statutory text of the BNS, BNSS and BSA as enacted. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.