Clause 21

An authorised officer or a senior authorised officer may arrest without warrant any person whom he has reason to believe to be committing or to have committed an offence under section 5 or 6, and may search the person arrested and seize anything which he reasonably considers to be evidence of the commission of the offence.

No woman or girl may be searched except by a woman.

Where the authorised officer or senior authorised officer makes an arrest without warrant, he shall, without unnecessary delay, produce the person arrested before a Magistrate.

The authorised officer or senior authorised officer shall not detain in custody a person arrested without a warrant for a longer period than is reasonable under the circumstances of the case.

Such period shall not exceed 48 hours, excluding the time for any necessary journey to the Magistrate’s Court.