Section 57 BNSS: Person arrested to be taken before Magistrate or officer in charge of police station (Formerly Section 56 CrPC)

Section 57 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Person arrested to be taken before Magistrate or officer in charge of police station

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

A police officer making an arrest without warrant shall, without unnecessary delay and subject to the provisions herein contained as to bail, take or send the person arrested before a Magistrate having jurisdiction in the case, or before the officer in charge of a police station.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Arrest Sec 35

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 57

Section 57 mandates that a police officer making an arrest without a warrant shall, without unnecessary delay and subject to the provisions as to bail, take or send the person arrested before a Magistrate having jurisdiction, or before the officer in charge of a police station.

Without Unnecessary Delay: Immediate transfer to the police station or production before the jurisdictional Magistrate.
Subject to Bail: If the offence is bailable, police must immediately grant bail upon furnishing of bond.
Prohibition of Intermediary Holding: Police cannot detain an arrested person in secret farmhouses, unofficial CIA units, or private locations.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Dhananjay Sharma v. State of Haryana (1995) 3 SCC 757: The Supreme Court severely punished police officers who detained citizens in secret police outposts without entering arrest in the station diary.
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC 416: Mandated that arrest details, time of arrest, and place of detention must be logged in the station diary immediately.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Check the General Diary (GD) and Lockup Register at the police station. An unexplained delay between the time of physical apprehension and formal entry in the GD constitutes illegal detention.