CrPC Amendment Act 2026: What Changed on Arrest, Remand and Police Investigation in Bangladesh

In this guide: Arrest: sections 46A to 46E · Section 54 arrests and the new section 67A · Remand: a 15-day ceiling and two medical checks · Investigation on a clock: sections 173A and 173B · Fines, summary trials and other changes · Using the amendment in a real arrest

The short answer

The 2025 ordinances, now the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026, wrote the Supreme Court’s BLAST guidelines into the Code itself. An arresting officer must carry visible identification and show it on request; a written memorandum of arrest must be prepared and countersigned by a family member or local witness; the arrested person must be allowed to contact relatives and consult a lawyer, preferably within 12 hours; an injured or ill arrestee must be examined and treated. Section 54 arrests need recorded grounds, total police remand is capped at 15 days with medical examination before and after, and the investigation is due within 60 working days, with interim discharge of an accused against whom no evidence appears. Magistrates’ fining powers were raised, summary trials can be held on the spot, compensation for a false case became a duty under section 250, and a new section 67A makes officers accountable for ignoring the safeguards.

Arrest: sections 46A to 46E

The new sections apply to every arrest, with or without a warrant.

• Identity. The officer must wear visible identification, disclose who they are when asked and show the official card on request. Plain-clothes arrests without identification are now a breach of the Code, not just of a guideline.
• Memorandum of arrest. A written memo recording the time, place and grounds of arrest, attested by a family member or a respectable local witness and countersigned by the arrested person. Where no witness is available the reasons must be recorded. The arrest details are also entered in the thana’s General Diary and, under the amendment, displayed digitally.
• Contact and lawyer. The arrestee must be told of the right to inform a relative or friend and to consult a lawyer, preferably within 12 hours; a family member or nominated friend must be informed as soon as practicable and no later than 24 hours.
• Medical. If the person is injured or unwell they must be examined and treated at once, preferably by a government medical officer, and a certificate issued.

Section 54 arrests and the new section 67A

Section 54 (arrest without warrant on suspicion) was tightened: the officer must have, and record, concrete grounds, and must produce the person before a Magistrate within 24 hours as before. New section 67A makes the arresting authority answerable for non-compliance or negligence, which gives the Magistrate a hook to act on the first appearance. If the memo is missing or the grounds are vague, say so in the first bail or remand hearing; it is now a statutory defect, not a complaint.

Remand: a 15-day ceiling and two medical checks

Police custody for interrogation is now capped at a total of 15 days in one case. Anything beyond that must be judicial custody (jail). New sub-section 167(2A) requires the Magistrate to have the accused medically examined before being handed to the police and again on return, so injuries in custody are recorded. “Shown arrest” applications under section 167A can be entertained only if the accused is physically produced with supporting papers and heard. Insist on all three: production, papers, hearing.

Investigation on a clock: sections 173A and 173B

Section 173B gives the police 60 working days from receipt of the information to complete the investigation. The investigating officer can ask the Magistrate for more time with reasons, so it is a clock with consequences rather than an automatic dismissal rule, and the Magistrate may act against an officer who delays without reason. Section 173A lets the court discharge an accused before the final report where an interim investigation report shows no evidence against them; the name can be added back if new evidence emerges. For an accused on bail this shortens the limbo; for a complainant it gives a date to press on. Diary the 60th working day and apply to the court if nothing has been filed.

Fines, summary trials and other changes

• Section 32: a first-class Magistrate may now fine up to Tk 5 lakh, second-class up to Tk 3 lakh and third-class up to Tk 2 lakh, so more cases stay in the Magistrate’s court.
• Section 264A: summary trials for scheduled offences can be held anywhere within the court’s jurisdiction, with judgment in the same session, by judicial officers.
• Section 250: where a Magistrate finds an accusation false and frivolous or vexatious, the complainant can be ordered to pay the accused compensation of up to Tk 50,000, and the power is now a duty rather than a discretion.
• Digital summons, online bail bonds, protection measures for victims and witnesses and the abolition of whipping as a punishment came in the same package.

The ordinances of 2025 were converted into the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026; our legal update tracks the Act. The arrest safeguards also track the BLAST guidelines, which remain binding in any case.

Using the amendment in a real arrest

The rules only help if someone invokes them. The family should write down the time of arrest, the officer’s name and unit, and whether a memo was given. The lawyer should ask the Magistrate at first production to record whether sections 46A to 46E were complied with, to order the pre-remand medical examination, to limit any remand to the days justified, and to note the 60-working-day deadline. Our first 24 hours after arrest guide covers the practical side.