Clause 4

Any person reasonably suspected of having committed an offence under this Act may be arrested without warrant by any police officer or public health officer or by any public officer authorised in writing in that behalf by the Commissioner (referred to in this section as the authorised public officer) and produced before a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court.

Notwithstanding any other written law, any police officer, public health officer or authorised public 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, the officer may, instead of producing such person before a Court or to a police station, serve upon such person a notice in such form as may be determined under section 9 requiring the person to attend at such Court, at such time and on such date as may be specified in the notice.

For the purpose of satisfying himself as to the identity of the person arrested, the police officer, public health officer or authorised public officer may require such evidence of identity as he may consider necessary to be furnished by that person.

A duplicate of the notice served under subsection (2) shall be prepared by the police officer, public health officer or authorised public officer, as the case may be, and produced by him 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 (2), the Court shall take cognizance of the offence alleged and shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (1).

If a person upon whom a notice has been served under subsection (2) 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 in pursuance of a warrant issued under subsection (6) is produced before a Court, the Court shall proceed as though he were produced before it under subsection (1) and shall, at the conclusion of such proceedings, call upon him to show cause why he should not be punished for failing to attend in compliance with the notice served under subsection (2) and, if due cause is not shown, the Court may order him to pay a penalty not exceeding $1,000 or may commit him to prison for a term not exceeding one month.