EXTENDED CUSTODY, ERODED RIGHTS? – EXAMINING THE PROVISIONS OF POLICE CUSTODY UNDER BNSS, 2023

Reforming the established laws over time is a common societal norm every progressive society adopts. The evolution of laws over time is an important factor in determining the democratic outlook and framework adopted by that nation. Criminal laws have undergone several changes with time to adjust to the changing needs for effective laws for sustaining law and order. Criminal Procedure Code,1973, provides the procedure when the investigation cannot be completed within the initial twenty-four hours of the detaining of the accused by the police. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023 replaced the Criminal Code of 1973 with effect from July 1^st, 2024. The provisions of police custody were altered to increase the duration of time in which a police officer can seek custody. The changes drew an alarming response as the provisions sought to visibly empower the police with extensive power to detain a person for investigation. It opened a Pandora’s box creating uncertainties for the future of the rights of the detained person. Globally, the pre-trial detention period is very low, which resonates with the fact that a prolonged duration of custody cannot be viable per se merely because it will ease the process of investigation to a great extent. Somewhere, there has to be a balance between the law and the fundamental human rights of the detained persons. The provisions could have been applied in a more efficacious manner, for instance making the provisions regulatory for only non-cognizable offenses to ease the investigation and more effective redressal of such cases.