Section 78: Warrantless arrest by officers

Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section

1. Supreme Court Judgment No. 3803/2562 (2019)

   A warrantless arrest under Section 78(3) requires both a ground under Section 66(2) and a genuine urgent necessity that prevents applying for a warrant; absent these, the arrest and detention are unlawful.

   Officers arrested the four plaintiffs without a warrant and held them at the police station until the next afternoon. Examining whether this was an offense in office and against liberty, the Court quoted Section 78(3) and Section 66, underscoring that a warrantless arrest on the urgency ground requires both a Section 66(2) ground and an urgent necessity preventing a warrant application.

2. Supreme Court Judgment No. 4316/2560 (2017)

   Where officers find a person in possession of drugs, that is a flagrant offense, and they may arrest without a warrant under Section 78(1) read with Section 80.

   On searching, officers found methamphetamine on one defendant and a larger quantity in a room the other admitted was his, a flagrant offense. The Court held that the officers had authority to arrest both without an arrest warrant under Section 78(1) and Section 80, so the search and arrest were lawful.

3. Supreme Court Judgment No. 10072/2559 (2016)

   Detention of a person by military officers under a special statute empowering them to hold a person for questioning is not an arrest under Section 78.

   Military officers had held the defendant under a statute allowing detention for questioning for up to seven days before he fled. The Court held that this was detention under the special military power, not an arrest under Section 78, even though police officers were present, and it distinguished the Section 78 rule that officers may not arrest without a warrant except in the listed cases.

Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.