Power of the Army to Arrest Without a Warrant

Last updated on Jun 15, 2022

An armed forces officer can arrest any person in a disturbed area without a warrant for:

  • Committing a cognizable offence; or
  • If there is a suspicion that a cognizable offence will be committed.

The officer can use force as required to effect the arrest.

When an army personnel arrests a civilian under this law, the law requires the army to hand over the person to the nearest police station immediately.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Follow us on social media!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a question you want to ask our legal experts?

Related Resources

Power of the Army to Enter and Search by the Army

The law usually requires that a search warrant is obtained by an authority in order to search a place. But under AFSPA, the armed forces have special powers to search a place without a warrant.

No Case Against the Armed Forces

No one can file any case against any armed personnel, except when there is special permission from the Central Government.

Army Control of a Disturbed Area

When it appears to the government that a dangerous situation has developed in a certain area of the country and it requires the armed forces to take control of that area, such an area is declared as a disturbed area. The AFSPA applies in such disturbed areas.

Do’s and Dont’s of the Army

As per the Supreme Court guidelines, there are certain acts which the army should do, and acts which are prohibited before, during and after an operation.

Special Powers of the Armed Forces

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) grants certain ‘special powers’ to the members of the armed forces in disturbed areas.

Power of the Army to Destroy Shelters/Storage

The army has the power to destroy places where armed attacks are usually made, training camps for armed volunteers, or hide-outs of armed gangs or criminal offenders.