Arrest how made.
What this section does
An arrest is effected by physically touching or confining the body of the person to be arrested, unless there is submission to custody by word or action; for women, submission on oral intimation is presumed and physical touch is generally avoided unless the officer is female. Force sufficient to effect the arrest may be used if the person resists or attempts to evade, and handcuffs may be used for habitual offenders or those accused of specified serious offences. Women generally cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise except with prior written permission of a first-class Magistrate obtained by a woman police officer.
AI-generated plain-language summary. For the binding statutory text, see India Code (official).
Procedure at a glance
- Key actors
- Police officer · Woman police officer · Magistrate of first class
- Time limit
- No arrest of women after sunset and before sunrise without prior Magistrate permission
Practitioner note
The Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273 laid down guidelines on necessity of arrest; the explicit handcuff provision in sub-section (3) is a new addition in BNSS not present in CrPC s.46.
Derived from CrPC s.46.
Read the official text
For the binding statutory text of BNSS Section 43, refer to the Gazette of India or the India Code official website.
Why this matters
BNSS Section 43 forms part of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 on 1 July 2024. Any new filing, FIR, charge sheet, or bail application made on or after that date should cite the new section number. References to the old act in legacy documents remain valid for matters that arose before the changeover.