The Commission, headed by Justice A R Lakshmanan, in its 203rd report sought the deletion of sub-section 1-b of Section 438 of the CrPC, which otherwise empowers police to nab the person without any warrant or on the basis of yet-to-be established accusations in the court room, as soon as the judge rejects the bail application.  

Citing the judgment of the Supreme Court in M C Abraham versus Maharashtra case, the Commission said mere fact that an anticipatory bail has been rejected “is no ground for directing the immediate arrest of the accused”.
Following a decision to amend the CrPC, the government had last year inserted a provision in Section 438 which said an applicant seeking anticipatory bail should be present in the court at the time of final hearing.

“There may be cases where an application may be rejected and yet the applicant is not put up for trial as, after investigation no material is found against him. Power of arrest, therefore, has to be exercised with due caution and circumspection and not in any mechanical manner.

The Commission has thus concluded that it is not necessary to have the proviso inserted in Section 438(1) as the position on this aspect is already very clear,” said the report.