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Introduction
In a recent claim of cops’ raid on a female occupant’s condominium in Penang, the issue on the need of warrant to enter the premises was raised in the social media.
In this article, I will briefly discuss whether the police can enter your house with or without a warrant.
The following is for general information only and not meant to be a legal advice.
Generally, most knowledgeable occupants would ask the police whether they have a warrant to enter their premises. If they could not produce one, then they have the right to deny the police entry into their homes unless it falls under the special sections explained below.
Basic Rights
Basically, our Federal Constitution provides certain rights to our privacy and property. As such, the police would not seek to enter your house unless they have good reasons to do so.
If the police believe they require a warrant, then they have to convince a magistrates’ court judge that a warrant is necessary to solve a case before one is granted to them.
Types of Warrants
There are two types of warrants – a search warrant and an arrest warrant.
The difference between the two is that an arrest warrant allows the police to only arrest the person named in the warrant whereas a search warrant is more general as it allows the police to only search for certain items or people.
Search Warrant
- Under Section 58 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), a magistrate may issue a search warrant for persons wrongfully confined such as a kidnap
- Under Section 54(1) CPC, any court may issue a search warrant, when for example, in a fraud case, the party in possession of certain important documents refused to cooperate with the police in the investigation.
- Under Section 56 CPC, a Magistrate may issue a search warrant authorizing a search for evidence of an offence.
Arrest Warrant
- Section 16(1) of CPC allows a judge to issue an arrest warrant for a person in your premises when the police believe that person is hiding in your house.
What about entry without warrant?
Yes, under Section 116A CPC, police can enter without warrant on national security concerns and any organized crimes where a delay may cause the evidence to be destroyed. In such a case, only a police officer above the rank Inspector may enter and search the relevant premises for evidence. The officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that such offences are being committed and a delay in obtaining a warrant is likely to frustrate the investigation.
Under Section 62 CPC, a police officer above the rank of Inspector may also conduct a search without warrant if he has reasonable cause to suspect any stolen property is concealed and has good grounds for believing that any delay in obtaining a search warrant may cause the property to be removed.
Conclusion
Whether the police can enter your premises with a without a warrant would depend on the circumstances of the case. If the police officer base his arguments on Section 116A or Section 62, he can definitely enter the premises without a warrant.