BNSS Section 37: Designated Police Officer and Record of Arrested Persons (CrPC 41C Mapping) (2026)
What Section 37 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 requires: a police control room and a designated police officer who keeps and displays details of every arrested person. How it maps to Section 41C of the old CrPC. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS
When a person is arrested, the family often does not know where they are being held. Section 37 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) answers this by making an arrest a matter of public record. It requires a police control room at district and State level, and a designated police officer who keeps and displays the names, addresses, and offences of arrested persons. Section 37 broadly carries forward Section 41C of the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). It is a procedure provision, so it creates no offence and carries no punishment of its own. This explainer sets out what it requires, how it maps to the old law, and what changed. Last verified October 2026.
- What it is: Section 37 of the BNSS requires a police control room and a designated officer who keeps and displays the details of arrested persons.
- The record: name, address, and the offence charged for each arrested person, displayed including in digital form.
- Old section: it broadly carries forward Section 41C of the CrPC.
- No punishment: it is a procedure provision, so it has no sentence of its own.
- Tracking the case: Claw tracks arrests that become cases across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.
01Why a public record of arrests matters
An arrest is a sudden loss of liberty. If there is no record of who was picked up, when, and where they are held, a person can disappear into custody without anyone knowing. That is the harm Section 37 is built to prevent.
The idea is simple. An arrest should not be a private act of one officer. It should leave a trace that a relative, a friend, or a lawyer can find. A control room and a named officer who keeps and displays arrest details turn the arrest into something that can be checked from the outside.
This also supports the wider safeguards around arrest, such as the right to be told the grounds of arrest and the right to have a relative informed. A record of the arrest makes those other rights easier to enforce.
02What Section 37 requires
Section 37 places duties on the State Government to make arrests traceable. In plain terms it requires:
- Police control rooms: the State Government must establish a police control room in every district and at the State level.
- A designated officer: the State Government must designate a police officer, in every district and in every police station, who is responsible for the information about persons arrested.
- The record: that officer keeps the names and addresses of arrested persons and the nature of the offence with which each person is charged.
- Display of details: the details of arrested persons are to be displayed, including in digital form, at the police station and at the district headquarters.
An arrest that is written down and displayed is an arrest that cannot be hidden.
Section 37 is a procedure provision. It does not create a crime and has no sentence of its own, so labels like cognizable or bailable attach to the offence being investigated, not to this section.
03The designated police officer
The heart of Section 37 is the designated police officer. This officer is the single point of truth for arrests in a district or station. The officer keeps the arrest record up to date and makes the information available so that the family, and the arrested person, are not left in the dark.
Read Section 37 together with the arrest safeguards that sit around it. A person who is arrested still has the right to be told the grounds of arrest and to have a chosen person informed, and must be produced before a Magistrate within the time the law allows. For the production timeline, see BNSS Section 58 on detention for no more than 24 hours.
A traceable chain
The control room and the designated officer are meant to create a traceable chain, from the moment of arrest to production before a court. If the record is missing or wrong, that gap can be raised later to question how the arrest was handled.
04Old law to new law: CrPC 41C
Section 37 of the BNSS broadly carries forward Section 41C of the old CrPC, which required control rooms and a record of arrests. The subject is the same: make arrests visible and traceable.
| Subject | Old law (CrPC, 1973) | New law (BNSS, 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Control room and record of arrests | Section 41C | Section 37 |
So an advocate who knows the old Section 41C will recognise the content. Note that some commentaries and official comparison notes differ on the exact number and cross-reference, so confirm the final wording against the official source before you rely on it.
05What changed from the old law
The core duty is not new. The CrPC already required control rooms and a record of arrests. The BNSS re-enacts this and pushes it towards a clearer, digital record.
- Same aim: a control room and a record of arrested persons, so an arrest leaves a trace.
- Digital display: the BNSS points to display of arrest details, including in digital form, which fits the new code's wider move towards electronic records.
- Station level responsibility: a designated officer at the police station, not only the district, is meant to keep the information current.
For how an arrest leads into investigation, see the police power to investigate a cognizable case under Section 175.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
An arrest record is only the beginning; the real work starts once that arrest becomes an FIR and a case that moves through the courts. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments in under five seconds for how courts have read the arrest safeguards that sit around Section 37. It also tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can follow a matter by party or advocate name from the arrest through to trial. Create a free Claw account to run these searches on the arrest-related cases you are handling. Research across every court starts at the case search across Indian courts hub.
Claw keeps no arrest register of its own; it is a research and tracking tool, not a replacement for legal advice, and it does not use customer case documents to train its AI models.
07Sources and further reading
- India Code (official text of the BNSS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
- Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
- BNSS bare text (State police reproduction): uppolice.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text of Section 37 and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
What is Section 37 of the BNSS?
Section 37 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 requires the State Government to set up a police control room and to designate a police officer in every district and police station who keeps the record of arrested persons, their address, and the offence charged, and displays this information, including in digital form.
Which old section does Section 37 BNSS replace?
It broadly carries forward Section 41C of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which required control rooms and a record of arrests. Some comparison notes differ on the exact number, so confirm against the official text.
Does Section 37 carry any punishment?
No. Section 37 is a procedure provision, not an offence. It places duties on the State Government and the police and has no sentence of its own. Whether an offence is cognizable or bailable depends on the offence being investigated.
Who is the designated police officer under Section 37?
It is a police officer designated by the State Government in every district and police station to keep the information about persons arrested and to make that information available. Bare-act reproductions report the rank as not below Assistant Sub-Inspector, which should be confirmed against the official text.
How does Section 37 protect an arrested person?
By making the arrest a public, traceable record. A control room and a named officer who keeps and displays arrest details mean a relative, friend, or lawyer can find out that a person was arrested and where they are held, which supports the other arrest safeguards.
Can I track an arrest case in Claw?
Yes. Once an arrest becomes an FIR and a case, a free Claw account lets you follow it across 9,102 courts, benches and forums by party or advocate name, and search more than 30 crore judgments in under five seconds. Claw keeps no arrest register and does not give legal advice.