Section 70 Delhi Police Act: Magistrate Powers of Police Officers
Section 70 authorises the Central Government, through an Official Gazette notification, to confer specified magistrate powers on the Commissioner of Police and eligible subordinate police officers in Delhi. The power is conditional and is not an automatic grant of every magistrate function.
Text of Section 70 - Delhi Police Act, 1978
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions and limitations as may be specified therein, empower-
(a) the Commissioner of Police to exercise and perform in relation to Delhi the powers and duties of an Executive Magistrate and of a District Magistrate under such of the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), as may be specified in the notification;
(b) any officer subordinate to the Commissioner of Police (not being an officer below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police) to exercise and perform in relation to such areas in Delhi as may be specified in the notification the powers and duties of an Executive Magistrate under such of the provisions of the said Code as may be specified in the notification.
(2) Every officer subordinate to the Commissioner of Police shall, in the exercise and performance of any powers and duties which he is empowered to exercise or perform under sub-section (1), be subject to the general control of the Commissioner of Police in the same manner and to the same extent as an Executive Magistrate appointed under section 20 of the said Code would be subject to the general control of the District Magistrate appointed under that section.
(3) The Commissioner of Police or any officer subordinate to him shall not be subject in the exercise and performance of any powers and duties which he is empowered to exercise and perform under sub-section (1), to the general control of the District Magistrate appointed under section 20 of the said Code.
(4) The provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the said Code.
Meaning and scope of Section 70
Section 70(1): Central Government notification
The Central Government is the authority empowered to issue a notification in the Official Gazette, the formal government publication used to publish legally operative notices. The notification must identify the powers being conferred and may impose conditions and limitations. A general designation as a police officer is not, by itself, enough to exercise every power of an Executive Magistrate or District Magistrate.
Section 70(1)(a): Commissioner of Police
The Commissioner of Police may be empowered to exercise the notified powers and duties of an Executive Magistrate and a District Magistrate in relation to Delhi. The extent of authority depends on the particular statutory provisions specified in the notification.
Section 70(1)(b): Assistant Commissioner of Police and above
A subordinate officer must be at least of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police to receive powers under clause (b). The notification must specify the applicable area in Delhi and the provisions under which the officer may exercise Executive Magistrate functions. Clause (b) does not independently confer District Magistrate powers on subordinate officers.
Section 70(2): Administrative control
For powers conferred under Section 70(1), a subordinate officer is subject to the general control of the Commissioner of Police. The original text compares this relationship with the control exercised by a District Magistrate over Executive Magistrates under Section 20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Section 70(3): District Magistrate control excluded
When the Commissioner or an eligible subordinate officer exercises powers validly conferred under Section 70(1), that officer is not subject to the general control of the District Magistrate appointed under the cited Code in respect of those functions. This provision concerns the specified control arrangement; it does not remove judicial review or other applicable legal safeguards.
Section 70(4): Overriding provision
The words "notwithstanding anything contained in the said Code" give Section 70 priority over inconsistent provisions of the Code referred to in the section, within the scope of the statutory empowerment. They do not authorise action beyond the notification or contrary to constitutional protections.
Current criminal procedure law: BNSS, 2023
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for the general criminal procedure framework with effect from 1 July 2024, subject to the applicable repeal, savings and transitional provisions. Section 70 of the Delhi Police Act, as reproduced above, expressly refers to the former Code and its Section 20. Those historical references are retained in the statutory extract rather than silently rewritten.
Section 14 of the BNSS concerns Executive Magistrates, including the appointment of District Magistrates and the arrangements for their control. The effect of the BNSS repeal-and-savings provisions and the General Clauses Act, 1897 on an existing notification or a reference in another enactment must be considered in its particular legal context. It should not be assumed that a notification under Section 70 automatically grants every power under the BNSS.
How to verify a claimed magistrate power
- Identify the officer's rank and whether the officer is the Commissioner or a qualifying subordinate officer.
- Locate the Central Government notification issued under Section 70 and check whether it remains applicable.
- Check the exact powers, territorial area, conditions and limitations specified in that notification.
- Confirm the relevant current criminal procedure provision and any statutory savings or judicial interpretation.
Official legal sources
Consult the Delhi Police Act, 1978 (India Code PDF), the India Code repository for the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the General Clauses Act, 1897, the Government of India e-Gazette for relevant notifications, and the Delhi Police Acts and Rules portal. The applicable Gazette notification should be checked before relying on any specific delegated power.
Related provisions: Section 64 - Duties of superior police officers and Section 65 - Reasonable directions of police officers.
This article is general legal information. The governing statute, notifications and current case law should be verified for any particular proceeding.