Section 58: Person arrested not to be detained more than twenty-four hours
Section 58 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with the legal provisions pertaining to the detention of a person arrested without a warrant. This section aims to safeguard the fundamental rights of the arrested person by imposing restrictions on the period of detention in police custody and providing proper judicial scrutiny.
It prohibits a police officer from detaining an arrested person in custody beyond twenty-four hours without getting a specific order from a Magistrate. That 24 hour period is excluded from the period of transporting an arrested person to the Magistrate's Court, and is calculated as starting with the moment of the arrest.
The detention of the arrested person has to be deemed reasonable with regard to the facts and circumstances of the case. The police are allowed to seek further time from a Magistrate under the provisions of Section 187 BNSS, if they need more time to conduct their investigation.
If the investigating process cannot be carried out within the first twenty-four hours, the arresting police officer shall produce the arrested before a Magistrate. A Magistrate, after hearing the case, may grant detention up to a period of fifteen days if satisfactory reasons are furnished for detaining the person.
If the inquiry requires more time than the initial detention period of twenty-four hours, the Magistrate may extend the detention as follows:
-Ninety days for capital offenses or life imprisonment offenses, or for offenses of especially grave nature.
-Sixty days for other offenses.
Once the maximum allowable detention period is attained, the arrested person should be released on bail unless there are strong legal reasons for denying bail. In case bail is granted and accepted, the person should be released from custody.
It also reflect the imperative of protecting freedom and giving allowance to law agencies to pursue detentions necessary and proper for criminal investigations. Ensuring judicial interference after twenty four hours is indeed a preventive from the possible harassment of arrestee by an arbitrarily prolonged detention not sanctioned by court.
This section corresponds well with the constitutionally protected measure provided under Article 22(2) of the Indian Constitution, which requires the arrested person be produced before the Magistrate concerned within twenty four hours after such arrest has been made. Section 58 supports additional legal measures from illegal detention along with ensuring security for individuals's rights from initiation to arrest, detention.
