09/07/2026
*Qalandra under Sections 107/151: Legal Analysis on Misuse & Abuse of Law*
The word "Qalandra" is nowhere to be found in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) or in any other law. It is a report of a police officer regarding a certain apprehension, especially the apprehension of a breach of peace.
*Qalandra Under Section 107 For Keeping Peace*
Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers a Magistrate to take a surety bond for keeping the peace. Section 107 can be broken into the following ingredients:
* Magistrate of First Class
* Information
* Any person likely to commit a breach of peace
* Any person likely to disturb the public tranquillity
* Any person likely to do any wrongful act that may probably occasion:
* Breach of peace
* Disturb the public tranquillity
* Sufficient ground in the opinion of the Magistrate to proceed further
* Show-cause to such person as to why he should not be ordered to execute a bond for a time not exceeding three years
* Local limits of the Magistrate's jurisdiction
*Qalandra for Arrest Of Person Under Section 151*
Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers a police officer to arrest a person to prevent the commission of an offence. This section can be bifurcated into the following ingredients:
* Police officer
* Knowledge of a design to commit any cognizable offence
* Power to arrest without an order of a Magistrate and without a warrant
* It appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented
*Qalandra Under Sections 107/151: Analysis & Practice Of Police*
As a matter of routine, the police make a Qalandra under sections 107/151 conjointly, arrest the person, and produce him along with the Qalandra before a Magistrate. This practice of the police is against the law and is obviously a misuse of the law.
*Magistrate And Qalandra Under Sections 107/151*
When the person arrested is produced along with the Qalandra before a Magistrate, the Magistrate often passes a cyclo-style order stating that a surety bond of a certain amount must be submitted. In case it is not submitted, the accused is sent to the judicial lock-up, and a report under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is ordered to be submitted at the earliest.
Such an order by a Magistrate is not warranted by law and is barely against the legal framework.
*Qalandra Under Sections 107/151: Critical Analysis*
Proceedings of Qalandra under sections 107/151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are void-ab-initio (legal term meaning "void from the beginning"). Even then, they are entertained by Magistrates, which is beyond the law.
The following critical points should be considered:
1. *No Power of Arrest in Section 107:* Police mix these sections only because there is no power of arrest under section 107. Section 107 states about a show-cause notice only, and not about arrest.
2. *Knowledge vs. Surmises:* Section 151 makes it mandatory that there must be some knowledge of a design to commit a cognizable offence. "Knowledge" means actual knowledge of a design, not mere assumptions or surmises.
3. *Contradictory Powers:* The power of a Magistrate to take a surety bond is mentioned in section 107 only, but there is no concept of arrest in section 107. Conversely, the power of a police officer to arrest is mentioned in section 151, but there is no power to take a surety bond.
4. *Illegal Detentions:* If an arrest is made under section 151, how can a Magistrate order a surety bond or otherwise send the accused to a judicial lockup? If a surety is taken under section 107, how can a Magistrate order that the accused be sent to a judicial lockup otherwise?
5. *Bypassing Due Process:* The provision of a show-cause notice is completely bypassed in routine practice.
6. *Illegal Section 173 Reports:* Requiring a report under section 173 is also beyond the law. A report under section 173 can only be submitted in cases that are investigated under Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
#107151
https://alfatimalaw.com/qalandra-under-sections-107-151-analysis-on-misuse-abuse-of-law/
