Difference between Police Custody and Judicial Custody in India

When it comes to judicial custody vs police custody, people tend to confuse both of them with the similar term “custody”, but both of them are quite different from each other. 

To begin with, “custody” in general means apprehending someone for protective care. It is different from arrest, as arrest is where the personal liberty of an individual is affected, but under custody, it still remains unaffected.

The two main kinds of custody are police custody and judicial custody, and this article further differentiates between them, according to different factors.

What Is Police Custody?

Police custody comes in the case when an individual is a suspect and is kept in a police station lockup by police. The reason behind police custody is that when someone is a suspect, they are put in custody to avoid any further crime being committed by them.

When someone is under police custody the person is under the governance of Section 167 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

What Is Judicial Custody?

Judicial custody is when the individual is under the custody of the concerned Magistrate. This happens when the Magistrate orders an accused to be sent to judicial custody and the individual is kept in jail. Under judicial custody, the accused becomes the responsibility of the Court.

Difference

Let’s take a look at the difference between the 2 custody according to different factors.

About The Author:

Adv. Bharat Kishan Sharma is a practicing lawyer at All Court of Delhi, NCR, with 10+ years of experience. He is a consultant and practices in the area of Criminal Cases, Contract Cases, Consumer Protection Cases, Marriage and Divorce Cases, Money Recovery Cases, Cheque Dishonour Case, etc. He is a passionate Counsel providing services in Litigation, Legal Compliance/Advisory to his clients in diverse areas of law.