Q. What do you understand by Warrant of Arrest?

Describe
the procedure for issue and execution of a Warrant of
Arrest. When can a court issue a warrant in a case in which
it is empowered to issue a summons? When can a warrant
be issued for recovery of a fine?

Introduction
To meet the ends of justice, it is critical to produce the accused and
other witness or related parties before the court whenever needed.
If the accused is found guilty at the conclusion of the trial, he must
be present in person to receive the sentence. Also, his presence is
necessary if imprisonment is to be enforced. Further, the supremacy
of the law will be questionable if there is no formal process to bring
the required persons before the court. For this reason, Chapter VI
(Sections 61 to 90) of CrPC provides two ways for compelling the
appearance of any person who is required to be present in the court,
in the court - Summons and Warrant. While Summons is an order of
the court to the person to appear before it, Warrant is an order of
the court given to a third person to bring the person who is required
to be present in the court, in the court. Which method is to be used
in a particular situation depends on the judicial officer, who is guided
by the provisions of this code.

The code classifies all criminal cases into summons cases and
warrant cases. A case is a warrant case if the offence is punishable by
death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for more than two
years. A summons case is a case that is not a warrant case. Thus, The
basis of classification is the seriousness of the offence. Since
summons case contains a lesser sentence, there is less probability of
the accused violating the court order. Therefore, generally, a
summons is issued for a summons case and a warrant is issued for a
warrant case. However, when a Summons is not productive in
making a person appear before the court, the count may issue a
warrant to a police officer or any other person to forcibly produce
the required person before the court.

Warrant of Arrest
A warrant of arrest is a written authority given by a competent
magistrate for the arrest of a person. It is a more drastic step than
the issue of a summons. It is addressed to a person, usually a police
officer, to apprehend and produce the offender in front of the court.
Essential Elements of a valid warrant -
1. The warrant must clearly mention the name and other particulars
of the person to be arrested. As per Section 70(1), every warrant of
arrest shall be in writing. It must be signed by the presiding officer of
the court and must bear the seal of the court. As per section 70(2), a
warrant remains in force until it is canceled or is executed. Normally,
Form 2 of Second schedule is used to write a warrant.
2. It must show the person to whom the authority to arrest has been
given. As per Section 72, a warrant is normally directed to one or
more police officers but, if necessary, the court may direct it to any
other person or persons. Further, section 73 provides that a
magistrate may direct a warrant to any person within his jurisdiction
for the arrest of any escaped convict, proclaimed offender, or of any
person who is accused of a non-bailable offence and is evading
arrest.
3. It may include a direction that if the person arrested under the
warrant executes a bond and gives security for his attendance in
court, he shall be released. Warrant with such a direction is called as
bailable warrant of arrest.
4. It must clearly specify the offence.

Procedure for issuing a Warrant
When a request in appropriate format is made to the court for
compelling the appearance for a person, the court either rejects the
request or issues a Warrant. As per Section 204, if in the opinion of
the magistrate taking cognizance of the offence, there is sufficient
ground for proceeding, and if the cases is a warrant case, he may
issue a warrant or if he thinks fit, he may issue a summons.
Further, Section 87, empowers a magistrate to issue a warrant even
if the case is a summons case if he has reason to believe that the
summons will be disobeyed. He must record his reasons for this
action.

Procedure for executing a Warrant
As per section 75, A warrant can be executed by showing the
substance of the warrant to the person being arrest. If required, the
warrant must be shown to the person arrested. Section 76 mandates
that the person executing the warrant must produce the arrested
person before the magistrate without unnecessary delay and within
24 hours excluding the time taken for travel from the place of arrest
to the magistrate.

As per section 77, a warrant may be executed anywhere in India.
Section 78 specifies that if a warrant is to be executed outside the
local jurisdiction of the court issuing it, such court may send it to the
Executive Magistrate or District Superintendent of Police or
Commissioner of Police within the local limits of whose jurisdiction it
is to be executed instead of directing it to the police officer within
the jurisdiction of the issuing court.

Section 79 specifies the procedure for executing a warrant outside
the local jurisdiction of the issuing court as follows -
(1) When a warrant directed to a police officer is to be executed
beyond the local jurisdiction of the Court issuing the same, he shall
ordinarily take it for endorsement either to an Executive Magistrate
or to a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a
police station, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the
warrant is to be executed.
(2) Such Magistrate or police officer shall endorse his name thereon
and such endorsement shall be sufficient authority to the police
officer to whom the warrant is directed to execute the same, and the
local police shall, if so required, assist such officer in executing such
warrant.
(3)Whenever there is reason to believe that the delay occasioned by
obtaining the endorsement of the Magistrate or police officer within
whose local jurisdiction the warrant is to be executed will prevent
such execution, the police officer to whom it is directed may execute
the same without such endorsement in any place beyond the local
jurisdiction of the Court which issued it.

When can a court issue a Warrant in a case in which it is
empowered to issue summons
As per Section 87 a court may issue a warrant even in a case in which
it is empowered only to issue a summons. A court can issue a
warrant either before issuing a summons or even after issuing a
summons. It may do so if it has reason to believe that the person has
absconded or that the person will not obey the summons. Further, a
court may issue a warrant if the summons was duly served and still
the person fails to appear before it at the required date and time
without any reasonable excuse. The court must record its reasons to
do so.

It must be noted that Section 204 empowers the court to issue a
summons even for a warrants case if it believes that a summons is
sufficient to enforce the appearance of the person before it, while
Section 87 empowers the court to issue a warrant even in a
summons cases, if reasonable causes exist. In general, a warrant
ought not to be issued where a summons can serve the purpose and
care should be exercised by the court to satisfy itself that upon the
materials present before it, it was necessary to issue a warrant. In
Anoop Singh vs Cheelu AIR 1957, it was held that this applies to an
accused as well as a witness. But where the court has no power to
issue a summons, it cannot issue a warrant under this section. In P K
Baidya vs Chaya Rani AIR 1995, it was held that when a witness
avoids his appearance in spite of the summons being appropriately
served, court can take steps for securing his presence under this
section.

When can a warrant be issued for recovery of a fine
Section 421 - Warrant for levy of fine-
(1) When an offender has been sentenced to pay a fine, the Court
passing the sentence may take action for the recovery of the fine in
either or both of the following ways, that is to say, it may,-
(a) issue a warrant for the levy of the amount by attachment and sale
of any movable property belonging to the offender;
(b) issue a warrant to the Collector of the district, authorizing him to
realize the amount as arrears of land revenue from the movable or
immovable property, or both, of the defaulter:

Provided that, if the sentence directs that in default of payment of
the fine, the offender shall be imprisoned, and if such offender has
undergone the whole of such imprisonment in default, no Court shall
issue such warrant unless, for special reasons to be recorded in
writing, it considers it necessary so to do, or unless, it has made an
order for the payment of expenses or compensation out of the fine
under Section 357.
(2) The State Government may make rules regulating the manner in
which warrants under Clause (a) of sub-section (1) are to be
executed, and for the summary determination of any claims made by
any person other than the offender in respect of any property
attached in execution of such warrant.
(3) Where the Court issues a warrant to the Collector under Clause
(b) of sub-section (1), the Collector shall realize the amount in
accordance with the law relating to recovery of arrears of land
revenue, as if such warrant were a certificate issued under such law:

Provided that no such warrant shall be executed by the arrest or
detention in prison of the offender.