Arrest of accused in court premises when he is about to surrender

[Anonymous]

If an accused person who has been absconding till now, goes to the court premises with his advocate, with the clear intention of surrendering before the court, can the police arrest such accused at that time? Can police arrest an accused who is with his advocate?

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

There is no prohibition in the Criminal Procedure Code to arrest a person from the court premises if his arrest is justifiable. Likewise, there is no prohibition that a person cannot be arrested when he is with his advocate. Of course, if the accused person is already in the court room and the Magistrate / Judge is also present in the court room, the police may not arrest the accused person from the court room without court’s permission. But, there is no restriction on arrest from within the court premises. In fact, it is not uncommon for the police to arrest a person from the court premises, more so when he has been absconding.     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

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