Warrants to whom directed
Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with warrants to whom directed. A warrant of arrest shall ordinarily be directed to one or more police officers; The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) A warrant of arrest shall ordinarily be directed to one or more police officers; but the Court issuing such a warrant may, if its immediate execution is necessary and no police officer is immediately available, direct it to any other person or persons, and such person or persons shall execute the same.
(2) When a warrant is directed to more officers or persons than one, it may be executed by all, or by any one or more of them.
Section 74, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 72 Warrants to whom directed Text carried over almost unchanged 100%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
Musham Sriramulu vs The State of Telangana
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 72, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A magistrate cannot permit a private complainant to execute a Non-Bailable Warrant without following the procedure prescribed under Section 72 CrPC. Before delegating warrant execution to any person other than a police officer, the court must have subjective satisfaction that immediate execution is necessary and no police officer is immediately available. The proper procedure is to appoint an Advocate Commissioner who shall take assistance of local police and personally execute the warrant. Dismissal of a complaint for default in executing an improperly delegated warrant is unsustainable and the complaint must be restored.
On this section: Provision specifying that warrants shall ordinarily be directed to police officers, but may be directed to other persons only if immediate execution is necessary and no police officer is immediately available; such persons must execute the warrant
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
-
… Petitioner is the accused in Crime No.797 of 2024 Konny Police Station. The above case is registered against the petitioner under Section 115(2), 118(2), 351(3) and 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (for short) BNSS. Petitioner was arrested in the above case on 01.09.2024 and he is in Judicial custody from that day onwards. 3. The prosecution case is that on 17.10.2024 at 05:30 pm, the petitioner assaulted the defacto complainant on her face using a hard object …
Questions about Section 74
What have the courts held on Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Musham Sriramulu vs The State of Telangana (29 Sep 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 72, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Provision specifying that warrants shall ordinarily be directed to police officers, but may be directed to other persons only if immediate execution is necessary and no police officer is immediately available; such persons must execute the warrant.
How do I find court cases under Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNSS 74, section 74 BNSS, section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bnss 74 75 and bnss 74 in ipc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Musham Sriramulu vs The State of Telangana (29 Sep 2016).
What should I read with Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 72 (Warrants to whom directed), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 74, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 359. Compounding of offences1355 words
- 187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1122 words
- 2. Definitions956 words
- 243. Trial for more than one offence930 words
- 35. When police may arrest without warrant881 words
- 480. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence823 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.