Section 23

If a police officer or an authorised officer reasonably suspects that a person has committed or is committing an offence under this Act, the officer may do all or any of the following:

Any person arrested under subsection (1)(d) must be produced before a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court (called in this section a Court) within 48 hours after the person is arrested.

Despite any other written law, any police officer or authorised officer who, having effected an arrest in accordance with subsection (1), is satisfied as to the identity, name and place of residence of the person arrested may, instead of producing the person before a Court or to a police station, serve upon the person a notice in the form determined under section 32 requiring the person to attend at the Court, at the time and on the date specified in the notice.

A duplicate of the notice served under subsection (3) must be prepared by the police officer or authorised officer (as the case may be) and produced by the police officer or authorised officer to the Court if so required by the Court.

Where an accused person appears before a Court in accordance with a notice served under subsection (3), the Court is to take cognizance of the offence alleged and proceed as though the accused person were produced before it under subsection (2).

If a person upon whom a notice has been served under subsection (3) fails to appear before a Court in accordance with the notice, the Court may issue a warrant for the arrest of that person.

Where a person arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under subsection (6) is produced before a Court, the Court is to —

If due cause is not shown by the person under subsection (7), the Court may —