Avisha Singla, CT University
ABSTRACT
The new criminal laws (ie. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) has been faced with numerous criticisms from the public and media for their bad drafting. The new criminal laws were criticized on the basis of wide discretionary power for police officers, deletion of 377 Indian Penal Code 1860 1, vagueness, and a threat of misuse2 etc. One of such criticism is based upon the section 187 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 which replaced section 167 of the precursor act. The extension of 15 days ceiling for the first period of arrest was what which caused the unrest among the human rights activists3. When the new criminal laws were implemented, human rights activists were particularly concerned with this new provision (ie. Section 187 of BNSS) and protested the implementation of new laws4. They argued that the power of police officer under this section can result in the misuse of their discretionary power and opens up a scope for custodial violence.
This paper aims to scrutinize the right related to arrest under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and view section 187 of the BNSS in major case laws and provisions to ascertain whether the rights of an arrested person in the custody is being violated or not?
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