Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 61
Power, on escape, to pursue and retake
(1) If a person in lawful custody escapes or is rescued, the person from whose custody he escaped or was rescued may immediately pursue and arrest him in any place in India.
(2) The provisions of section 44 shall apply to arrests under sub-section (1) although the person making any such arrest is not acting under a warrant and is not a police officer having authority to arrest.
Why this exists
This provision continues a rule found in the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure (Section 60). It exists so that lawful custody isn't easily defeated the moment an escape or rescue happens. Without it, whoever was holding a person — whether a police officer, jail official, or even a private person who made a citizen's arrest — would have to get fresh legal authority before recapturing them, giving the escapee time to disappear. The law lets pursuit and re-arrest happen immediately, anywhere in the country, while still requiring that the actual arrest be done properly and not with excessive force.
How courts read it
Courts interpreting the identical provision under the old CrPC (Section 60) have generally held that the power to pursue and retake applies only to persons who were in genuinely lawful custody at the time of escape — if the original custody itself was illegal, this section cannot be used to justify recapture. Courts have also emphasized that the safeguards on how an arrest must be carried out (informing the person, avoiding unnecessary force) apply fully even to this kind of pursuit arrest, since the law does not want escape situations to become an excuse for rough or arbitrary treatment.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Only police officers can chase and re-arrest an escaped person.
Fact: The law allows whoever had lawful custody — which could include jail staff or even a private citizen who made a valid arrest — to pursue and re-arrest the escapee, not just police officers. - Myth: Because there's no warrant, the person chasing can use any means necessary to recapture the escapee.
Fact: The same arrest procedure safeguards (like informing the person and using only reasonable force) apply here as in any other arrest, under Section 44.