Have you seen in a movie where someone stole something in the shop, and a lay person just run over and assist the shop manager to arrest the shoplifter? Do you ever think or consider the legality of that lay person’s action? Whether is it lawful for him to arrest someone? Or that is that lay person being liable of committing assault and battery against the shoplifter?
Here a few things you need to know with regards to the legality of the act.
By virtue of s27 of the Criminal Procedural Code, any private person may arrest any person who in his views, commits a non-bailable and seizable offence without any necessary delay to the nearest police station.
Non-bailable and Seizable offence is the type of crime that the nature of the crime is that there shall not be automatic granting of bail unless the one of the three exceptions applies and seizable offence is the police may arrest the person immediately without applying a warrant to arrest. In layman terms, basically it means that the crime is serious in nature such a murder, theft, rape etc.
Therefore, a private person may arrest the suspect if in his view which is in his sight that the person committed a serious offense and must bring that person to the police without unnecessary delay. If the person fails to do so, the arrested person might sue the arresting person under trespass to person under the law of tort.
