UPSC Prelims 2021 Q82: Judicial vs Police Custody — Explained

With reference to India, consider the following statements:

1. Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in police station, not in jail.

2. During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (b) 2 only

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: incorrect — The statement describes police custody, not judicial custody. Under judicial custody the accused is under the authority of the Judicial Magistrate and is kept in jail, usually as an undertrial. The police station lock-up is where a person in police custody is held. So the part saying the accused is 'locked up in police station, not in jail' is the reverse of the facts.
  • 2: correct — When an accused is in judicial custody, the jail is under the magistrate's control and the investigating officer has no physical custody. The police can question the accused only with the court's permission, either an order to interrogate in jail or a remand back to police custody. Without that permission the police officer in charge of the case cannot interrogate the suspect.

How to eliminate

This question cannot be solved by a trick. You have to know one basic distinction: police custody means the police lock-up, and judicial custody means jail under a magistrate's order. If you know that, Statement 1 is clearly false because it puts a judicially remanded accused in a police station. That leaves only two options: 'Statement 2 only' or 'neither'. Statement 2 follows from the same idea. If the magistrate, not the police, controls the accused, the police need the court's approval to question them. The words 'judicial' (court) and 'police' in the two custody terms tell you who controls the accused. Use that as your anchor.

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Police custody vs judicial custody

Article 22(2) of the Constitution says an arrested person must be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours, not counting travel time. After that, only a magistrate can authorise further detention. The magistrate can send the accused to one of two kinds of custody.

Feature Police custody Judicial custody
Where held Police station lock-up Jail (prison)
Who controls Investigating police officer Magistrate
Interrogation Police may question Only with court permission
Maximum period 15 days in total Up to 60 or 90 days in total before a charge sheet

Time limits. Under Section 167 of the old CrPC, police custody was allowed only within the first 15 days of remand. Section 187 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, in force from 1 July 2024, keeps the 15-day total. But the police can now take these days in parts during the first 40 days (offences with less than 10 years' punishment) or the first 60 days (offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or 10 years or more).

Default bail. The total detention limit before a charge sheet is 90 days for the gravest offences and 60 days for others. If the police do not file a charge sheet within that time, the accused gets a right to bail.

Safeguards. Article 20(3) protects an accused from being forced to testify against themselves. Many custodial-torture cases arise in police custody, which is why courts watch remand requests closely.

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