CrPC 78-81 vs BNSS 80-83: Warrant Outside Jurisdiction (2026)

In India, Sections 80 to 83 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced Sections 78 to 81 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) on 1 July 2024. The procedure for executing an arrest warrant in another district is carried over; the new element is Section 82(2), requiring prompt intimation of the arrest to designated police officers.

At a glance

CrPC	BNSS	Subject	Key rule in the BNSS text	Change
78	80	Warrant forwarded for execution outside jurisdiction	Court may forward the warrant "by post or otherwise" to the local Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police, with the substance of the information and documents for bail	Minor edit
79	81	Warrant directed to police officer for execution outside jurisdiction	Officer ordinarily takes it for local endorsement; may execute without endorsement if delay will prevent execution	Identical
80	82	Procedure on arrest	Person taken before the local authority unless the issuing Court is within thirty kilometres or nearer, or security is taken; new intimation to designated police officers	Modified
81	83	Procedure by Magistrate before whom the arrested person is brought	Removal in custody to the issuing Court; "bail bond" or security for bailable offences; bail by the CJM or Sessions Judge for non-bailable offences	Minor edit

These are procedural provisions: they create no offence, so neither First Schedule classifies them. Whether the underlying offence is bailable — which decides who may release the person under Section 83(1) — is read from the First Schedule entry for that offence.

Neighbouring provisions (not covered in full here): Section 79 BNSS (CrPC 77) — "A warrant of arrest may be executed at any place in India", identical words; Section 78 BNSS (CrPC 76) — production before the Court without unnecessary delay, not exceeding twenty-four hours exclusive of journey time, with the cross-reference changed from Section 71 to Section 73; Section 73 BNSS (CrPC 71) — endorsement on the warrant directing that security be taken.

What changed

Minor edit — Section 80 (CrPC 78): sub-section (1) is word for word the same. In sub-section (2), "the Court acting under section 81" becomes "the Court acting under section 83".
Identical — Section 81 (CrPC 79): all three sub-sections and the heading are the same words.
Modified — Section 82 (CrPC 80): the old single paragraph becomes sub-section (1), with "security is taken under section 71" renumbered to "section 73". New sub-section (2): "On the arrest of any person referred to in sub-section (1), the police officer shall forthwith give the information regarding such arrest and the place where the arrested person is being held to the designated police officer in the district and to such officer of another district where the arrested person normally resides."
Minor edit — Section 83 (CrPC 81): in the first proviso, "ready and willing to give bail" becomes "ready and willing to give bail bond", and "take such bail or security" becomes "take such bail bond or security". Cross-references are renumbered: Section 71 to 73 (twice), Section 437 to 480, and Section 78(2) to 80(2). The second proviso and sub-section (2) are otherwise the same.

The "bail bond" wording matches the BNSS definitions, which the CrPC did not contain: "bail" is release "on execution by such person of a bond or a bail bond" (Section 2(1)(b)); "bail bond" means "an undertaking for release with surety" (Section 2(1)(d)); and "bond" means "a personal bond or an undertaking for release without surety" (Section 2(1)(e)).

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 80 CrPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

When a warrant of arrest is executed outside the district in which it was issued, the person arrested shall, unless the Court which issued the warrant is within thirty kilometres of the place of arrest … be taken before such Magistrate or District Superintendent or Commissioner.

Extract, Section 82(2) BNSS:

(2) On the arrest of any person referred to in sub-section (1), the police officer shall forthwith give the information regarding such arrest and the place where the arrested person is being held to the designated police officer in the district and to such officer of another district where the arrested person normally resides.

Extract, Section 83(1) BNSS, second proviso:

Provided further that if the offence is a non-bailable one, it shall be lawful for the Chief Judicial Magistrate (subject to the provisions of section 480), or the Sessions Judge, of the district in which the arrest is made on consideration of the information and the documents referred to in sub-section (2) of section 80, to release such person on bail.

How it works — the steps

Route 1: the Court forwards the warrant (Section 80). When a warrant is to be executed outside its local jurisdiction, the issuing Court may, instead of directing it to a police officer within its own jurisdiction, forward it "by post or otherwise" to any Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police where it is to be executed. That authority endorses his name on it and, "if practicable", causes it to be executed. The Court must send with it the substance of the information against the person and any documents sufficient for the local Court to decide bail (Section 80(2)).

Route 2: the Court's own police officer travels (Section 81). A police officer to whom the warrant is directed ordinarily takes it for endorsement to an Executive Magistrate, or a police officer not below the rank of officer in charge of a police station, where it is to be executed (Section 81(1)). The endorsement is "sufficient authority" to execute it, and the local police must assist "if so required" (Section 81(2)). If there is reason to believe that the delay in getting the endorsement "will prevent such execution", the officer may execute it without endorsement (Section 81(3)).

After the arrest (Section 82).

If the arrest is outside the issuing district, the person is taken before the Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent or Commissioner of the place of arrest — unless the issuing Court is within thirty kilometres of the place of arrest, or is nearer than that local authority, or security has been taken under Section 73 on the strength of an endorsement on the warrant (Section 82(1)).
The arresting officer must "forthwith" inform the designated police officer in the district, and the designated officer of the district where the person normally resides, of the arrest and the place of detention (Section 82(2)). Section 37 BNSS requires the State Government to designate, in every district and every police station, a police officer "not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police" responsible for maintaining information on the names and addresses of persons arrested and the offences charged.

Before the local authority (Section 83).

If the person "appears to be the person intended" by the issuing Court, the local authority directs his removal in custody to that Court (Section 83(1)).
Bailable offence, or a security endorsement under Section 73 on the warrant: if the person is "ready and willing" to give a bail bond or the endorsed security to the authority's satisfaction, the authority "shall take" it and forward the bond to the issuing Court (first proviso).
Non-bailable offence: the Chief Judicial Magistrate (subject to Section 480) or the Sessions Judge of the district of arrest may release the person on bail, considering the information and documents forwarded under Section 80(2) (second proviso).
A police officer may still take security under Section 73 (Section 83(2)).

Throughout, Section 78 BNSS requires the person to be brought before the Court without unnecessary delay, not exceeding twenty-four hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate's Court.

What this means in practice

For the person arrested and their family

If the warrant came from another district, ask where the person is being held; Section 82(2) requires that information to be sent "forthwith" to the designated police officer of the district where the person normally resides, and Section 37 requires that officer's records to be displayed at the police station and district headquarters.
For a bailable offence, offer the bail bond to the local Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent or Commissioner before removal; the first proviso to Section 83(1) says the authority "shall take" it.
For a non-bailable offence, an application may be made to the Chief Judicial Magistrate or Sessions Judge of the district of arrest under the second proviso to Section 83(1), without first being taken to the issuing Court.

For the defence advocate

Check whether the issuing Court forwarded "the substance of the information" and documents under Section 80(2); the second proviso to Section 83(1) ties the local bail decision to those papers.
Check whether the executing officer obtained local endorsement under Section 81(1); if not, whether there was "reason to believe" that delay would have prevented execution (Section 81(3)). Guideline (k) in Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin (below) requires the procedure to be followed "strictly and scrupulously".
The thirty-kilometre rule in Section 82(1) decides whether the person goes to the local authority or straight to the issuing Court; measure it from the place of arrest.

For police officers and courts

Record the time and content of the Section 82(2) intimation. The section fixes no form; on a reading of the text, a written or electronic record made at the time is the practical proof that information was given "forthwith".
Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin's guidelines (d) to (i), given under the CrPC to check misuse of arrest warrants, direct a return date, a warrant register in the Court and at the police station, and a compliance report on the return date.

Judgments that still matter

Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin v. State of Maharashtra & Anr., [2011] 11 S.C.R. 300 (2011 INSC 668) — 9 September 2011. D.K. Jain and H.L. Dattu JJ. heard an appeal by an advocate arrested on a non-bailable warrant that had already been cancelled; the Bombay High Court had directed the police officer to pay him ₹2,000 as costs. The Supreme Court held that he did not deserve further monetary compensation (para 19), confirmed the High Court's judgment and dismissed the appeal (para 22). It held that a warrant is not bad in law merely because it is described as "non-bailable" (para 21). "Before parting with the judgment", it issued guidelines for all cases where non-bailable warrants are issued (para 23), including printed and machine-numbered Form No. 2, a warrant register in the Court and at the police station, a return date, and guideline (k): "In the event of warrant for execution beyond jurisdiction of the Court issuing it, procedure laid down in Sections 78 and 79 of the Code must be strictly and scrupulously followed". The Court said it expected and hoped that the High Courts would issue directions to the subordinate courts (para 24). Sections 80 and 81 BNSS repeat Sections 78 and 79 CrPC apart from one renumbered cross-reference, so on a reading of the text guideline (k) applies to the same procedure.

No Supreme Court judgment construing Sections 80 to 83 BNSS was found in the corpus searched for this page.

Which law applies to your case

Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending immediately before the BNSS came into force is to be disposed of, continued, held or made in accordance with the CrPC "as if this Sanhita had not come into force". On a reading of that provision, a warrant issued in such a pending matter is executed under Sections 78 to 81 CrPC — which contain no counterpart to the intimation duty in Section 82(2) BNSS — while warrants in proceedings begun on or after 1 July 2024 follow Sections 80 to 83 BNSS. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNSS equivalent of Sections 78 to 81 CrPC? Sections 80 to 83 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replace Sections 78 to 81 CrPC: warrant forwarded for execution outside jurisdiction (80), warrant directed to a police officer for execution outside jurisdiction (81), procedure on arrest (82) and procedure by the Magistrate before whom the arrested person is brought (83). Section 79 BNSS, like Section 77 CrPC, allows a warrant of arrest to be executed at any place in India.

What is new in Section 82 BNSS? Sub-section (2) is new. When a person is arrested under a warrant outside the district in which it was issued, the police officer must forthwith inform the designated police officer in the district, and such officer of another district where the arrested person normally resides, of the arrest and the place where the person is being held. Sub-section (1) repeats Section 80 CrPC with the cross-reference changed from Section 71 to Section 73.

Where is a person arrested in another district taken first? Under Section 82(1) BNSS, the person is taken before the Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police of the place of arrest, unless the issuing Court is within thirty kilometres of the place of arrest or is nearer than that local authority, or unless security is taken under Section 73. Section 83(1) then requires that authority, if the person appears to be the person intended, to direct removal in custody to the issuing Court.

Can a person arrested on a warrant in another district get bail there? Yes, in two situations under Section 83(1) BNSS. For a bailable offence, the local Executive Magistrate, District Superintendent or Commissioner must take a bail bond, or the security endorsed on the warrant under Section 73, and forward the bond to the issuing Court. For a non-bailable offence, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (subject to Section 480) or the Sessions Judge of the district of arrest may release the person on bail, considering the information and documents forwarded under Section 80(2).

Must a police officer from another district get the warrant endorsed locally? Ordinarily, yes. Section 81(1) BNSS requires the officer to take the warrant for endorsement to an Executive Magistrate or a police officer not below the rank of officer in charge of a police station where it is to be executed, and the local police must assist if required (Section 81(2)). Under Section 81(3), the officer may execute without endorsement only where there is reason to believe the delay in obtaining it will prevent execution.

What papers must accompany a warrant forwarded to another district? Section 80(2) BNSS requires the issuing Court to forward, along with the warrant, the substance of the information against the person and such documents, if any, as may be sufficient to enable the Court acting under Section 83 to decide whether bail should or should not be granted. Section 78(2) CrPC contained the same requirement.

What did the Supreme Court direct about warrants executed outside jurisdiction? In Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin v. State of Maharashtra ([2011] 11 S.C.R. 300), the Supreme Court issued guidelines for non-bailable warrants, including guideline (k): where a warrant is to be executed beyond the issuing Court's jurisdiction, the procedure in Sections 78 and 79 CrPC 'must be strictly and scrupulously followed' (para 23). Sections 80 and 81 BNSS carry the same procedure.

Which law applies to a warrant in a case pending on 1 July 2024? Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that a trial, inquiry or investigation pending immediately before the BNSS came into force continues under the CrPC as if the BNSS had not come into force. On a reading of that provision, a warrant in such a pending matter is executed under Sections 78 to 81 CrPC, which do not include the intimation duty in Section 82(2) BNSS.

Sources

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 2(1)(b), (d) and (e), 37, 73, 78 to 83, 480 and 531(2)(a).
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (India Code text): Sections 71 and 76 to 81.
Judgment read in full text: Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin v. State of Maharashtra (Diary_13568-2008_Judgment.md; S.C.R. header confirmed from 2011_11_300_325_EN.pdf).

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 78–81 CrPC vs Sections 80–83 BNSS — Executing a Warrant of Arrest Outside the Issuing Court's Jurisdiction