Hey,
I have read your query and would like you to know that arrest can be done by a police officer or magistrate or any other citizen, arrest means to deprive a person of his freedom of action to refrain him from committing a crime or fleeing, police can arrest a person based on the nature of the offence, committed by him.
In case of a cognizable offence a person can be arrested without a warrant. Cognizable offences are those in which police officer as per the first schedule can arrest the convict without a warrant and can start investigation without the permission of court, cognizable offences are generally heinous in nature such as murder, rape kidnapping, theft, dowry death, criminal breach of trust, etc.
A non-cognizable offence is bailable in nature. In these type of offenses police can not arrest a person without a warrant as well as cannot start investigation without the permission of the court. In this type of offence a criminal complaint is lodged with the metropolitan magistrate who then order to the concerned police station to initiate an investigation.
A chargesheet is a final report that is filed by the investigating officer under section 173 of criminal Procedure Code, 1973 after the completion of investigation. Filing of chargesheet in a cognizable offence committed by the accused is mandatory on the part of police officials, either themselves or on the orders of the court after filing FIR, however, the same is not compulsory in the case of non-cognizable offences, police officers can only arrest after a warrant from the magistrate and thus cannot conduct an investigation on their own.
Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 allows that a person maybe held in the custody of police on the orders of magistrate for period of 15 days from the date custody begins but a judicial custody may extend to a period of 90 days for a crime which has punishment of death, life imprisonment or imprisonment exceeding 10 years and 60 days for all other crimes if the Magistrate is convinced that sufficient reasons exist. An important difference would be of the fact that accused can be sent to police custody for only first fifteen days after the arrest as held by Supreme Court in State v. Darampal 1982.
The maximum an accused can be held in judicial custody is 90 days, upon expiry of this period the accused is to be released on bail on furnishing.
It is mandatory on part of the police to file a chargesheet upon completion of the investigation and before the expiry of 60/90 days but if in case charge sheet is not filed then the accused is entitled to bail. A bail is a temporary release of a person who has been arrested or charged with a crime.
Section 169 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 states that if after an investigation it appears that there is no sufficient evidence so as to forward the accused to the magistrate then he may release him on bond with or without sureties. However, after the release of accused if the magistrate deems it fit then he may direct the investigation to start again and submit a report under section 173.
Hope this solve your query.
Regards
Parth Chawla
