Introduction
Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) empowers the police to arrest a person when such arrest is necessary to prevent the commission of a cognizable offence. The provision is preventive rather than punitive and enables timely intervention where there is a real likelihood that a cognizable offence will be committed.
It forms part of the preventive policing framework under BNSS, alongside Sections 168 and 169.
Meaning of Section 170
Section 170 authorizes a police officer to arrest a person without orders from a Magistrate and without a warrant if the arrest is necessary to prevent the commission of a cognizable offence.
The purpose is not to punish an individual for a future act but to prevent an imminent criminal offence through lawful preventive action.
Statutory Basis
Section 170 – Arrest to prevent commission of cognizable offences provides that a police officer knowing of a design to commit a cognizable offence may arrest the person concerned, if it appears that the commission of the offence cannot otherwise be prevented.
This power is conditional and must be exercised only when preventive arrest is genuinely necessary.
Object and Purpose
The provision seeks to:
- Prevent imminent cognizable offences.
- Protect public safety and public order.
- Enable immediate police intervention in urgent situations.
- Ensure that preventive arrest is used only as a last resort where other measures are insufficient.
Essential Elements
1. Knowledge of a Design to Commit an Offence
The police officer must possess information or knowledge indicating that a person intends to commit a cognizable offence.
2. Cognizable Offence
The anticipated offence must be a cognizable offence under criminal law.
3. Necessity of Arrest
Preventive arrest is justified only when the offence cannot otherwise be prevented. If less restrictive lawful measures are sufficient, arrest should not be resorted to.
4. Arrest Without Warrant
The officer may arrest without obtaining prior authorization from a Magistrate or securing a warrant, subject to the safeguards provided under BNSS.
Powers of Police
Under Section 170, a police officer may:
- Arrest the person concerned without warrant.
- Act immediately where delay may result in the commission of a cognizable offence.
- Use preventive powers only within the limits prescribed by law.
Limitations on the Power
The power is not unlimited. Important safeguards include:
- There must be a reasonable basis for believing that a cognizable offence is planned.
- Arrest must be necessary for prevention.
- The action must comply with constitutional and statutory safeguards relating to arrest.
- Arbitrary or mala fide preventive arrests are not protected by the provision.
Procedure
- The police receive credible information or acquire knowledge of a planned cognizable offence.
- The officer assesses whether the offence can be prevented through other lawful means.
- If prevention is otherwise impossible, the officer arrests the person without warrant.
- The arrested person must thereafter be dealt with according to the procedural safeguards under BNSS.
Relationship with Sections 168 and 169
These three provisions operate together as a preventive framework:
- Section 168: Duty of police to prevent cognizable offences.
- Section 169: Receipt of information regarding the design to commit such offences.
- Section 170: Power to arrest where arrest is necessary to prevent the offence.
Example
Police receive reliable intelligence that an individual is about to carry out an armed robbery later that evening. Officers determine that surveillance alone will not prevent the crime. They may arrest the individual under Section 170 to prevent the commission of the cognizable offence.
BNSS and CrPC
Section 170 BNSS corresponds to Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
The preventive arrest power has been substantially retained. BNSS continues the principle that arrest without warrant is permissible only when it is necessary to prevent the commission of a cognizable offence and no other effective preventive measure is available.
Constitutional Connection
Section 170 directly engages two important constitutional protections:
- Article 21: Personal liberty can be restricted only through a fair, just, and reasonable procedure established by law.
- Article 22: A person arrested under preventive powers continues to enjoy constitutional safeguards, including the right to be informed of the grounds of arrest and the right to be produced before the appropriate authority within the prescribed period.
Common Confusion
Can police arrest someone merely on suspicion?
No. Section 170 requires more than mere suspicion. The officer must have knowledge or credible information of a design to commit a cognizable offence, and the arrest must be necessary because the offence cannot otherwise be prevented.
Quick Revision
- BNSS Section: 170
- Subject: Arrest to prevent commission of cognizable offences
- Nature: Preventive arrest
- Warrant Required: No
- Key Condition: Arrest must be necessary to prevent the offence
- Related Sections: 168 and 169 BNSS
- CrPC Equivalent: Section 151
ALSO READ: Section 169 – Information of design to commit cognizable offences
Conclusion
Section 170 of BNSS, 2023 provides a narrowly tailored preventive power that allows police to arrest without warrant only when it is genuinely necessary to stop an imminent cognizable offence. By combining preventive authority with constitutional safeguards, the provision seeks to balance public safety with the protection of individual liberty.
