DRAFT OF ARREST POLICY FOR INDIA

AUTHOR – AAYUSHMAN NEPAL, STUDENT AT SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, HYDERABAD

BEST CITATION – AAYUSHMAN NEPAL, DRAFT OF ARREST POLICY FOR INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (11) OF 2025, PG. 422-427, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344

1. ABSTRACT

This draft in the Arrest Policy for India will restructure arrest policies under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) with a comprehensive overhaul, thus ensuring their constitutionality and consistency with judicial interpretation as well as accepted international human rights standards. Given the electoral history of arbitrary arrests, custodial violence, and inability to implement the police, this policy strives to develop arrest procedures that are uniform, open, and accountable. It considers the arrest power as a form of liberty versus Article 21 and 22 of the Constitution, Article 3 of the UDHR, and Article 9 of the ICCPR.

 The study critically evaluates the legal justifications and challenges for several categories of arrests-mayor or Magistrate, private persons, with or without warrant, arrest for refusing to disclose name and residence. Therefore, it suggests, inter alia, procedural checks like review by a magistrate, written record of arrest reason, limitations on police discretion to curb abuse.

Further, the policy sets forth all the rights that an arrestee has under the CrPC and the Constitution, such as the rights of arrest information, legal aid, protection against self-incrimination, medical examination, and humane treatment. Case laws like D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, Joginder Kumar v. State, and Khatri v. State of Bihar anchor these rights.

On the suggested reforms site, judiciary, periodic reviews, gender-sensitive procedures, protection of marginalized communities, and rigorous police training are promoted. Those would preserve the dignity of the accused and, at the same time, enhance public confidence in the system. The Draft Arrest Policy foresees a criminal justice system in which legitimate, fair, and proportionate enforcement practices call forth the ideals of a democratic and humane society.

Keywords:  Arrest Policy, Code of Criminal Procedure, Arbitrary Arrests, Custodial Violence