Arrests can be made under Cognizable offences and Non-cognizable offences. Cognizable Offence is an offence where a police officer can arrest without a warrant and investigate without the court's permission for serious and heinous crimes, for example: rape, murder, kidnapping, dowry death etc. All cognizable offences are non-bailable. Non-cognizable offences include assault, cheating, forgery, defamation, defamation etc.

Sections in brief
Section 41(1) of the code of Criminal Procedure Code 1973 states that a person may be arrested by a police officer without a magistrates order in a cognizable offence which is non-baillable offence under sections 41, 42, 151 of CrPC.

This includes possession of stolen property or unlawful objects, a proclaimed offender, a burglar, a murderer, a person for commission of an offence under dowry death, deserter of Armed Forces of the Union and a person under extradition where he has committed an offence in India and escaped to foreign lands to evade arrest and the law in India.

A person committing an offence in the presence of a police officer can be released on a bond with or without surety. The person arrested should be stand before a magistrate within 24 hours if he fails to execute the bond. Arrest can be also made if a police officer thinks that burden of proof lies and to satisfy the court that he has reasonable ground of suspicion to arrest the accused without a warrant. as per section 468, an investigation of an arrest made in a cognizable offence should be conducted by the police officer immediately on arrest.

Under Section 45 of Crpc any person or member of Armed Forces or a person who is performing in a position of armed forces cannot be arrested for anything done in discharge of their official duties except after consent of the supreme court.

Search warrant
A search warrant is issued by an authorized judge or Magistrate of a court to a police officer or any other person authorizing them to conduct a search upon a person, vehicle, lcrime location scene and confiscate such material or believed to be a stolen property. This includes counterfeit coin, pieces of metal made in contravention of Metal Tokens Act,1889, forged documents, false seals, obscene seals or objects referred to in section 292 IPC, 1860.

In case D.K Basu vs State of West Bengal, The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in has in paragraph 36 gave specific, guidelines required to be followed by a police officer while making arrests.

The principles laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court are

• The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, carrying id and with their name tags designations
• All police personnel who handle interrogation , then such case of interrogation must be recorded in a register.
• A person who has been arrested and detained in police custody should be entitled to inform a friend or a relative or a person interested in his welfare as soon as possible of his arrest and detention.

Rights of Arrested person- The Indian constitution gives equal rights to an accused person under the Code of criminal procedure, 1973 of being heard fairly and a chance to defend himself. The protection has been provided as a special fundamental right, under Part III [Under Article 20(3)] of the Constitution of India. It provides that no person who is accused of an criminal offence can be compelled to be a witness against himself.

A person cannot be arrest without being informed of the grounds of the arrest neither can stop him from the right to consult a lawyer/advocate and to Free Legal Aid of his choice to defend himself. Women can only be arrest in presence of female police officer and arrest should be made before between the period of sunrise and sunset , except in exceptional cases and with the permission of the local magistrate.