CrPC 41C, 43 vs BNSS 37, 40: Arrest Changes Explained (2026)

In India, Sections 37 and 40 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced Sections 41C and 43 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) from 1 July 2024. Every police station now has a designated officer for arrest records, and a citizen who arrests someone must hand him over within six hours.

At a glance

CrPC	BNSS	Subject	Key rule in the BNSS text	Change
41C(1)	37(a)	Police control rooms	"a police control room in every district and at State level"	Minor edit (restructured)
41C(2)–(3)	37(b)	Recording and display of arrests	Designated police officer, not below Assistant Sub-Inspector, in every district and police station; information "prominently displayed in any manner including in digital mode"	Modified
43(1)	40(1)	Arrest by a private person	Only a person committing a non-bailable and cognizable offence in his presence, or a proclaimed offender; handover "without unnecessary delay, but within six hours from such arrest"	Modified
43(2)	40(2)	Police action on handover	Where the person comes under Section 35(1), the police officer "shall take him in custody"	Minor edit
43(3)	40(3)	Non-cognizable offence or no offence	Dealt with under Section 39, or "at once released"	Minor edit

Related pages in this series cover the neighbouring provisions: arrest without warrant (Section 41 CrPC / Section 35 BNSS), how an arrest is made (Section 46 CrPC / Section 43 BNSS) and grounds of arrest (Section 50 CrPC / Section 47 BNSS) — see "Related".

What changed

Section 37 BNSS (CrPC 41C)

Minor edit — heading: "Control room at districts" becomes "Designated police officer".
Minor edit — 37(a): Section 41C(1) required the State Government to "establish a police control room— (a) in every district; and (b) at State level". Section 37(a) reads "establish a police control room in every district and at State level".
Omitted — 41C(2): the duty "to be displayed on the notice board kept outside the control rooms at every district, the names and addresses of the persons arrested and the name and designation of the police officers who made the arrests".
Omitted — 41C(3): the State-level control room's duty to "collect from time to time, details about the persons arrested, nature of the offence with which they are charged and maintain a database for the information of the general public".
New — 37(b): the State Government shall "designate a police officer in every district and in every police station, not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police who shall be responsible for maintaining the information about the names and addresses of the persons arrested, nature of the offence with which charged, which shall be prominently displayed in any manner including in digital mode in every police station and at the district headquarters".
Consequential — Section 48(1) BNSS: the person making an arrest must now inform "the designated police officer in the district" as well as the arrested person's relatives, friends or nominee (Section 50A(1) CrPC required only the latter). Section 82(2) BNSS also requires information to the designated police officer when a warrant is executed outside the issuing district.

On a reading of the text, Section 37(b) moves the display from the district control room to every police station and the district headquarters, allows digital display, and does not repeat two items: the name and designation of the arresting officer, and a State-level public database.

Section 40 BNSS (CrPC 43)

Identical — who may be arrested (40(1)): "any person who in his presence commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender".
Modified — time limit (40(1)): "without unnecessary delay, shall make over" becomes "without unnecessary delay, but within six hours from such arrest, shall make over". The alternative — taking the person to "the nearest police station" in the absence of a police officer — is unchanged.
Minor edit — 40(2): "If there is reason to believe that such person comes under the provisions of section 41, a police officer shall re-arrest him" becomes "comes under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 35, a police officer shall take him in custody".
Minor edit — 40(3): the cross-reference "section 42" becomes "section 39"; the rest — including "he shall be at once released" where there is no sufficient reason to believe he committed any offence — is identical.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 41C(2) CrPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

The State Government shall cause to be displayed on the notice board kept outside the control rooms at every district, the names and addresses of the persons arrested and the name and designation of the police officers who made the arrests.

Extract, Section 37 BNSS:

The State Government shall— (a) establish a police control room in every district and at State level; (b) designate a police officer in every district and in every police station, not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police who shall be responsible for maintaining the information about the names and addresses of the persons arrested, nature of the offence with which charged, which shall be prominently displayed in any manner including in digital mode in every police station and at the district headquarters.

Extract, Section 40(1) BNSS:

Any private person may arrest or cause to be arrested any person who in his presence commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender, and, without unnecessary delay, but within six hours from such arrest, shall make over or cause to be made over any person so arrested to a police officer, or, in the absence of a police officer, take such person or cause him to be taken in custody to the nearest police station.

How it works

Section 37 — the arrest-information chain

Arrest — the arresting officer follows Section 36 BNSS: identification, a memorandum of arrest attested by a family member or respectable local person and countersigned by the arrested person, and information of the right to have "a relative or a friend or any other person" told of the arrest (the words "or any other person" are new; Section 41B(c) CrPC read "a relative or a friend").
Information out — under Section 48(1) BNSS, the arresting officer "or other person making any arrest" informs the nominee and "the designated police officer in the district".
Record and display — the designated officer maintains names, addresses and the nature of the offence charged, for display in every police station and at district headquarters, "in any manner including in digital mode" (37(b)).
Control rooms — the State keeps a police control room in every district and at State level (37(a)); the text no longer assigns them the display and database functions.

Section 40 — arrest by a private person

When — only where the person "in his presence commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence", or the person is a proclaimed offender. Whether an offence is non-bailable and cognizable is read from the First Schedule to the BNSS.
Handover — to a police officer, or to the nearest police station if no police officer is present, "without unnecessary delay, but within six hours from such arrest".
Police decision — (a) if there is reason to believe the person falls within Section 35(1) BNSS (arrest without warrant), the officer "shall take him in custody"; (b) if the offence appears non-cognizable and the person refuses to give, or falsely gives, name and residence, he is dealt with under Section 39 BNSS; (c) if there is no sufficient reason to believe he committed any offence, "he shall be at once released".

What this means in practice

For the arrested person and family

Ask at the police station or district headquarters for the displayed arrest information maintained by the designated officer under Section 37(b). The arresting officer must also tell you of your right to have someone informed (Section 36(c)) and must inform your nominee (Section 48(1)).
If a private person made the arrest, the six-hour limit in Section 40(1) runs "from such arrest". The BNSS text does not state a consequence for exceeding it; any argument about unlawful detention after six hours is, on a reading of the text, one for the court on the facts.

For a citizen who witnesses a serious offence

Section 40 BNSS permits an arrest only for a non-bailable and cognizable offence committed in your presence, or of a proclaimed offender. For other offences, the course is to inform the police; for listed offences, Section 33 BNSS imposes a duty to do so (see "Related").
Hand the person over to a police officer or take him to the nearest police station within six hours, and without unnecessary delay.

For police officers

Each police station needs a designated officer of at least Assistant Sub-Inspector rank (Section 37(b)); a person handed over by a private person is taken in custody only where there is reason to believe Section 35(1) applies (Section 40(2)).
For arrests the police make without a warrant, Section 35(7) BNSS adds a separate requirement — prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police where the offence is punishable with less than three years and the person is infirm or above sixty years of age.

For defence advocates

Where the prosecution relies on a citizen's arrest, check the time of arrest and handover against the six-hour limit, and whether the offence was non-bailable and cognizable and committed "in his presence".

Judgments that still matter

D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, [1996] Supp. 10 S.C.R. 284 (1996 INSC 1508) — 18 December 1996. Kuldip Singh and Dr. A.S. Anand JJ., hearing a letter petition, treated as a writ petition, about deaths in police lock-ups and custody, issued eleven requirements to be followed "in all cases of arrest or detention till legal provisions are made in that behalf" (report p. 310). Requirement (11) was that "a police control room should be provided at all district and state headquarters", to which the arresting officer would communicate the arrest and place of custody within 12 hours, for display "on a conspicuous notice board" (pp. 311–312). Other requirements covered name tags for arresting officers (1), a memo of arrest attested by a family member or respectable local person and countersigned by the arrestee (2), the right to have a friend or relative informed (3) and meeting a lawyer during interrogation, "though not throughout the interrogation" (10). The Court stated that failure to comply would render the official liable to departmental action and to punishment for contempt (p. 312). The petition was disposed of. On a comparison of the texts, Sections 41B to 41D CrPC (inserted by Act 5 of 2009 with effect from 1 November 2010) state several of these requirements in similar words — for example, 41B(a) on visible identification and 41D on meeting an advocate "though not throughout interrogation" — and Sections 36 to 38 BNSS carry them forward; Section 37 BNSS now places the display in police stations and at district headquarters, in any manner including digital. On a reading of the text, the requirements remain relevant to the extent the BNSS does not itself deal with them.

No Supreme Court judgment construing Section 43 CrPC or Section 40 BNSS, or applying Section 37 BNSS, was traced in the material searched for this page as at 28 September 2026.

Which law applies to your case

Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that an investigation, inquiry or trial pending on 1 July 2024 continues under the CrPC "as if this Sanhita had not come into force". On a reading of the text, an arrest made on or after 1 July 2024 — whether by the police or by a private person — follows Sections 35 to 40 and 48 BNSS, including the six-hour handover limit. See Offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies.

Frequently asked questions

Which BNSS sections replace Sections 41C and 43 CrPC? Section 37 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 41C CrPC (control room at districts) and Section 40 BNSS replaces Section 43 CrPC (arrest by private person). Both apply from 1 July 2024. Section 37 now carries the heading 'Designated police officer'.

What is a designated police officer under Section 37 BNSS? Section 37(b) BNSS requires the State Government to designate a police officer, not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, in every district and every police station. That officer is responsible for maintaining information about the names and addresses of persons arrested and the nature of the offence with which they are charged.

Where must arrest information be displayed under the BNSS? Under Section 37(b) BNSS, the arrest information is to be prominently displayed in any manner including in digital mode in every police station and at the district headquarters. Section 41C(2) CrPC required display on the notice board outside the district control rooms, and Section 41C(3) required a State-level database for the public; neither sub-section is repeated.

Can a private citizen arrest someone in India? Yes, in limited cases. Under Section 40(1) BNSS, any private person may arrest, or cause to be arrested, a person who in his presence commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender. The rule is the same as in Section 43(1) CrPC.

Within how much time must a citizen hand over an arrested person to the police? Section 40(1) BNSS requires the private person to make over the arrested person to a police officer, or take him to the nearest police station in the absence of a police officer, without unnecessary delay, but within six hours from such arrest. Section 43(1) CrPC said only 'without unnecessary delay'. The BNSS text does not state a consequence of exceeding six hours.

What does the police do after a citizen hands over an arrested person? If there is reason to believe the person falls under Section 35(1) BNSS, the police officer shall take him in custody (Section 40(2)). If there is reason to believe he committed a non-cognizable offence and he refuses to give, or falsely gives, his name and residence, he is dealt with under Section 39 BNSS. If there is no sufficient reason to believe he committed any offence, he shall be at once released (Section 40(3)).

Must the designated police officer be told about an arrest? Yes. Section 48(1) BNSS requires every police officer or other person making an arrest to give information about the arrest and the place where the person is held to a relative, friend or nominated person, and also to the designated police officer in the district. Section 50A(1) CrPC had no requirement to inform a designated officer.

Sources

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 48, 82 and 531.
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (India Code text, with amendment footnotes): Sections 41, 41B, 41C, 41D, 42, 43 and 50A.
Judgment read in full text: D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (S_1996_10_284_320_EN.md).

This page explains the statutory text and the judgments cited as they stand. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.

Sections 41C and 43 CrPC vs Sections 37 and 40 BNSS — Designated Police Officer, Control Rooms and Arrest by a Private Person