September 26, 2024

Attachment of property of person abscondin (1) The Court issuing a proclamation under section 82 may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, at any time after the issue of the proclamation, order the attachment of any property, movable or immovable, or both, belonging to the proclaimed person : Provided that where at the time of the issue of the proclamation the Court is satisfied, by affidavit or otherwise, that the person in relation to whom the proclamation is to be issued,— (a)   is about to dispose of the whole or any part of his property, or (b)   is about to remove the whole or any part of his property from the local jurisdiction of the Court, it may order the attachment simultaneously with the issue of the proclamation. (2) Such order shall authorise the attachment of any property belonging to such person within the district in which it is made; and it shall authorise the attachment of any property belonging to such person without such district when endorsed by the District Magistrate within whose district such pro-perty is situate. (3) If the property ordered to be attached is a debt or other movable property, the attachment under this section shall be made— (a)   by seizure; or (b)   by the appointment of a receiver; or (c)   by an order in writing prohibiting the delivery of such property to the proclaimed person or to any one on his behalf; or (d)   by all or any two of such methods, as the Court thinks fit. (4) If the property ordered to be attached is immovable, the attachment under this section shall, in the case of land paying revenue to the State Government, be made through the Collector of the district in which the land is situate, and in all other cases— (a)   by taking possession; or (b)   by the appointment of a receiver; or (c)   by an order in writing prohibiting the payment of rent on delivery of property to the proclaimed person or to any one on his behalf; or (d)   by all or any two of such methods, as the Court thinks fit. (5) If the property ordered to be attached consists of livestock or is of a perishable nature, the Court may, if it thinks it expedient, order immediate sale thereof, and in such case the proceeds of the sale shall abide the order of the Court. (6) The powers, duties and liabilities of a receiver appointed under this section shall be the same as those of a receiver appointed under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).

Proclamation for person absconding (1) If any Court has reason to believe (whether after taking evidence or not) that any person against whom a warrant has been issued by it has absconded or is concealing himself so that such warrant cannot be exe-cuted, such Court may publish a written proclamation requiring him to appear at a specified place and at a specified time not less than thirty days from the date of publishing such proclamation. (2) The proclamation shall be published as follows :— (i)   (a) it shall be publicly read in some conspicuous place of the town or village in which such person ordinarily resides; (b)   it shall be affixed to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which such person ordinarily resides or to some conspicuous place of such town or village; (c)   a copy thereof shall be affixed to some conspicuous part of the Court-house; (ii)   the Court may also, if it thinks fit, direct a copy of the proclamation to be published in a daily newspaper circulating in the place in which such person ordinarily resides. (3) A statement in writing by the Court issuing the proclamation to the effect that the proclamation was duly published on a specified day, in the manner specified in clause (i) of sub-section (2), shall be conclusive evidence that the requirements of this section have been complied with, and that the proclamation was published on such day. [(4) Where a proclamation published under sub-section (1) is in respect of a person accused of an offence punishable under section 302, 304, 364, 367, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 402, 436, 449, 459 or 460 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), and such person fails to appear at the specified place and time required by the proclamation, the Court may, after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, pronounce him a proclaimed offender and make a declaration to that effect. (5) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) shall apply to a declaration made by the Court under sub-section (4) as they apply to the proclamation published under sub-section (1).]

Procedure by Magistrate before whom such person arrested is brought (1) The Executive Magistrate or District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police shall, if the person arrested appears to be the person intended by the Court which issued the warrant, direct his removal in custody to such Court : Provided that, if the offence is bailable, and such person is ready and willing to give bail to the satisfaction of such Magistrate, District Superintendent or Commissioner, or a direction has been endorsed under section 71 on the warrant and such person is ready and willing to give the security required by such direction, the Magistrate, District Superintendent or Commissioner shall take such bail or security, as the case may be, and forward the bond, to the Court which issued the warrant : 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 437), 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 78, to release such person on bail. (2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent a police officer from taking security under section 71. STATE AMENDMENTS UTTAR PRADESH ■   Section 81(1)     Insert the following third proviso to sub-section (1) :     “Provided also that where such person is not released on bail or where he fails to give such security as aforesaid, the Chief Judicial Magistrate in the case of a non-bailable offence or any Judicial Magistrate in the case of bailable offence may pass such orders as he thinks fit for his custody till such time as may be necessary for his removal to the court which issued the warrant.“-Vide Act No. 1 of 1984. COMMENTS JOINT COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT This section corresponds to section 86 of the old Code with the difference that the second proviso has been added to sub-section (1). The Joint Committee of Parliament has observed : “under the present provision where a warrant of arrest is sent to a place outside the local jurisdiction of a Magistrate, for execution, the arrested person has necessarily to be transported in custody to the Magistrate issuing the warrant before he can claim to be released on bail. The Committee feels that this results in considerable hardship and inconvenience to persons arrested far away from the court issuing the warrant of arrest. To remove such hardship and inconvenience, the Committee has amended these clauses conferring power on the Magistrate having jurisdiction over the place of arrest to release the person on bail subject to the other provisions of the Code relating to bail. To enable such Magistrate to consider whether bail should be granted, it has further been provided in clause 78 that the Magistrate issuing a warrant should also forward along with the warrant the substance of the information together with relevant documents.”

Procedure on arrest of person against whom warrant issued 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 or is nearer than the Executive Magistrate or District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the arrest was made, or unless security is taken under section 71, be taken before such Magistrate or District Superintendent or Commissioner.

Warrant directed to police officer for execution outside jurisdiction (1) When a warrant directed to a police officer is to be executed beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court issuing the same, he shall ordinarily take it for endorsement either to an Executive Magistrate or to a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed. (2) Such Magistrate or police officer shall endorse his name thereon and such endorsement shall be sufficient authority to the police officer to whom the warrant is directed to execute the same, and the local police shall, if so required, assist such officer in executing such warrant. (3) Whenever there is reason to believe that the delay occasioned by obtaining the endorsement of the Magistrate or police officer within whose local jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed will prevent such execution, the police officer to whom it is directed may execute the same without such endorsement in any place beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court which issued it.

Warrant forwarded for execution outside jurisdiction (1) When a warrant is to be executed outside the local jurisdiction of the Court issuing it, such Court may, instead of directing the warrant to a police officer within its jurisdiction, forward it by post or otherwise to any Executive Magistrate or District Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police within the local limits of whose jurisdiction it is to be executed; and the Executive Magistrate or District Superintendent or Commissioner shall endorse his name thereon, and if practicable, cause it to be executed in the manner hereinbefore provided. (2) The Court issuing a warrant under sub-section (1) shall forward, along with the warrant, the substance of the information against the person to be arrested together with such documents, if any, as may be sufficient to enable the Court acting under section 81 to decide whether bail should or should not be granted to the person.

Where warrant may be executed A warrant of arrest may be executed at any place in India.

Person arrested to be brought before Court without delay The police officer or other person executing a warrant of arrest shall (subject to the provisions of section 71 as to security) without unnecessary delay bring the person arrested before the Court before which he is required by law to produce such person : Provided that such delay shall not, in any case, exceed twenty-four hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate’s Court.

Notification of substance of warrant The police officer or other person executing a warrant of arrest shall notify the substance thereof to the person to be arrested, and, if so required, shall show him the warrant.