Warrant may be directed any person
Section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with warrant may be directed any person. The Chief Judicial Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class may direct a warrant to any person within his local 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. 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 Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried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) The Chief Judicial Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class may direct a warrant to any person within his local 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.
(2) Such person shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of the warrant, and shall execute it if the person for whose arrest it was issued, is in, or enters on, any land or other property under his charge.
(3) When the person against whom such warrant is issued is arrested, he shall be made over with the warrant to the nearest police officer, who shall cause him to be taken before a Magistrate having jurisdiction in the case, unless security is taken under section 71.
Section 73, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 75 Warrant may be directed to any person 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
This section refers to
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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Kapil Kumar vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A person who has been declared as a Proclaimed Offender under Section 82 Cr.P.C. is not entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 438 Cr.P.C., regardless of whether the offences technically fall within the specific categories enumerated in Section 82(4) Cr.P.C. The procedure for issuing Non-Bailable Warrants and initiating proclamation proceedings under Section 82 Cr.P.C. in police cases does not require prior issuance of summons and bailable warrants, and the Magistrate has inherent power under Section 73 Cr.P.C. to issue warrants for non-bailable offences when the accused is evading arrest. In economic offences of large magnitude affecting the economic fabric of society, the power to grant anticipatory bail must be exercised sparingly.
On this section: Magistrate's power to issue warrant for arrest of escaped convict, proclaimed offender, or person accused of non-bailable offence evading arrest; Court relied upon this to justify issuance of Non-Bailable Warrants
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C.k.krishma Krishnan vs State of Kerala
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The High Court has the supervisory jurisdiction to direct a subordinate court to expeditiously consider and pass an order on a pending application within a specified timeframe when there is considerable delay in the disposal of such application, particularly in matters involving enforcement of maintenance orders where the creditor is deprived of her legal entitlements.
On this section: Non-Bailable Warrant issuance and execution procedures; the petitioner filed CMP 720/2017 seeking direction to issue NBW under Section 73 CrPC
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 73
What have the courts held on Section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Kapil Kumar vs State (07 Mar 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Magistrate's power to issue warrant for arrest of escaped convict, proclaimed offender, or person accused of non-bailable offence evading arrest; Court relied upon this to justify issuance of Non-Bailable Warrants. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2017 to 2022.
How do I find court cases under Section 73 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 73, section 73 CRPC, section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Kapil Kumar vs State (07 Mar 2022).
What should I read with Section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 71 (Power to direct security to be taken), so none of them can safely be read on its own. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 75 (Warrant may be directed to any person), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 73, 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.