Warrants to whom directed
Section 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 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 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(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 72, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 74 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
Referred to by 1
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.
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Musham Sriramulu vs The State of Telangana
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.
Questions about Section 72
What have the courts held on Section 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Musham Sriramulu vs The State of Telangana (29 Sep 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: 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 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
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: CRPC 72, section 72 CRPC, section 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type crpc 72 2 in bnss and section 72 crpc punishment. 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 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 74 (Warrants to whom directed), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 72 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 72, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.