When Police May Arrest Without Warrant

Explanation

BNSS Section 35 is the BNSS equivalent of CrPC Section 41 — with one critically important addition in sub-section (7): mandatory written reasons before making any arrest. This codifies the Arnesh Kumar (2014) judicial direction that police must record reasons for arrest in writing. Under CrPC, this was only a judicial guideline susceptible to non-compliance; BNSS makes it a statutory requirement. The consequences are significant: an arrest made without recording reasons in writing is procedurally defective and may render the detention illegal — giving the accused grounds for bail and potentially habeas corpus. The proviso recognises a practical exception: where there is immediate risk of further offence or evidence tampering, reasons may be recorded after the arrest (but must still be recorded). BNSS Section 35 also preserves the Section 41A notice requirement as BNSS Section 35A — maintaining the 7-year rule for notice-before-arrest.