Report No. 154

12. Amendment in sub-section (3) of section 46

Do you agree with the suggestion that after sub-section 3 of section 46 of the Code, the following sub-section should be inserted to prohibit arrest of a woman after sunset and before sunrise except in unavoidable circumstances as laid down under clause 7(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 1994 as recommended by the Law Commission in 135th Report on "Women in Custody".

"(4) Save in exceptional circumstances, no woman shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, and where such exceptional circumstances exist, the police officer shall, by making a written report, obtain the prior permission of his immediate superior officer for effecting such arrest or, if the case is one of extreme urgency and such prior permission cannot be obtained before making such arrest, he shall, after making the arrest, forthwith report the matter in writing to his immediate superior officer explaining the urgency and the reasons for not taking prior permission as aforesaid and shall also make a report to the Magistrate within whose local jurisdiction the arrest hand been made."