445. Examination of warrants. Notes of explanation.
- All warrants shall be examined to ascertain whether they conform to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Orders of the High Court.Note 1 - A warrant ordering imprisonment without specifying whether it is to be simple or rigorous imprisonment, an undated, an unsigned or an unsealed warrant shall be returned for correction.Note 2 - If a warrant purporting to have been issued by a Magistrate of the third class directs that a prisoner be subjected to rigorous imprisonment for a single offence for over one month, the case should be referred and the sentence not carried out pending revision.Note 3 - A sentence of flogging is irregular - (a) in the case of a prisoner also sentenced to imprisonment for more than five years; (b) in the case of a prisoner 45 years of age or upwards; (c) in the case of women; and (d) in the case of a prisoner also sentenced to imprisonment for less than three months.Note 4 - The amount of solitary confinement ordered on a warrant is dependent on the term of sentence and should not be more than is allowed under Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code.Note 5 - Every warrant should show the class (habitual or casual) to which the prisoner belongs, and in the case of those previously convicted a statement showing the previous convictions should be attached.Note 6 - In cases in which more than six months' imprisonment is awarded by a European Magistrate and the warrant is not filled up in English, a fresh warrant in due form should be called for and substituted for that originally sent.Note 7 - Warrants issued by Indian Magistrates must necessarily be in Urdu. The objects to be attained are that the officer who signs a warrant should be responsible for its contents, and that all warrants should, as far as possible, be uniform. (Such warrants shall be translated into English at the jail).Note 8 - The Superintendent of a Jail is justified in refusing to receive or detain a prisoner in jail on a warrant to which is affixed a signature by means of a stamp. But he should ordinarily adopt the procedure detailed in note 12 below.Note 9 - All warrants should be signed in full (not initialled) by the Judge or Magistrate who issues it and should be sealed with the seal of the court.Note 10 - In the case of persons on which separate sentences are passed, care should be taken to state in the warrant of commitment to imprisonment the dates from which each sentence to have effect.Note 11 - In the case of under-trial prisoners the warrant of commitment for intermediate custody should be prepared with the greatest care possible with reference to the above instructions.Note 12 - The Superintendent of a jail should not refuse to admit a person where the above instructions have not been carried out but he should draw the immediate attention of the Magistrate concerned to the defect, and ask for its rectification at once sending at the same time a copy of his letter to the Magistrate of the district for his information.Note 13 - Warrants for the release or remission of sentences of prisoners confined in Jail, warrants for the release of prisoners on bail and intimations of payment of fines sent to Jail authorities should always be drawn up in the vernacular of the officer issuing the order and should be signed in full by such officer and sealed with the seal of his court. They should be sent to the Jail authorities through an official messenger of the court or through the agency of the post and not through the friends or relatives of prisoners.[Note 14 - There should be a separate warrant or notice for every prisoner even if two or more prisoners have been jointly charged or convicted.] [Chief Court. Punjab Lett. No. 3497-G dated the 17th May, 1917.]
