# Held with no FIR? A court can free them. > A person arrested without warrant cannot be held beyond 24 hours without a Magistrate's order (CrPC s.61). For illegal or improper detention, the High Court can order the person set at liberty under section 491 CrPC, and a Sessions Judge can too where the High Court has empowered him by notification (s.491(1A)). - Topic: Criminal law - For: Citizens - A 12-slide carousel: https://failegal.site/media/held-with-no-fir-a-court-can-free-them - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-19 ## Myth or fact? What people often think. - **Myth: The police can keep someone at the station for days.** - **Fact: A person arrested without warrant cannot be held beyond 24 hours without a Magistrate's special order under s.167, journey time aside (CrPC s.61).** ## The remedy. Section 491, CrPC. > "Any High Court may, whenever it thinks fit, direct ... (b) that a person illegally or improperly detained in public or private custody within such limits be set at liberty." (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 · Section 491(1)) ## Quick quiz. Which court? Guess first, then swipe for the answer. - **A. Only the Supreme Court** - **B. The High Court, and a Sessions Judge it empowers** - **C. The SHO himself** ## Answer: B. Section 491(1A). Who can use the power. - **High Court** Can direct that the person be brought before it, or set at liberty (s.491(1)). - **Sessions Judge** Where the High Court has so directed by notification, a Sessions or Additional Sessions Judge can too (s.491(1A)). ## What a court found. 2026 PCrLJ 572, Sindh High Court. - **The raid** On a s.491 application, a Magistrate made a surprise visit to the police station. - **No record** Two men were held with no FIR and no entry in the station diary. - **Costs** Costs on the SHO and officials were upheld. ## Police who fake a case. 2024 PCrLJ 1669, Lahore High Court. - **Found** An ASI and the SHO illegally confined the detenu, then created evidence against him. - **Ordered** The petitioner was told to apply for an FIR against both officers, to be lodged without delay. ## Know the limits. When s.491 is not the route. - **Abduction** Claimed abduction with no known place of detention: that is for police investigation (2023 YLR 1746). - **Preventive detention** Section 491 does not apply to it (s.491(3)). ## What to do. Three steps, in this order. - **Facts** Who took him, when, and to which police station. - **Apply** A petition under s.491 to the court. - **Order** Production, a raid, or release. ## Get these ready. The court needs specifics. - **The person** Name, CNIC and a recent photo. - **The place** The police station and the officers you saw. - **The proof** Witnesses, call logs, messages and the time he was taken. ## Someone held? Ask FAI in your own words. It answers with the exact section and the judgments behind it. - **Police took my brother last night and there is no FIR. What can I do today?** - **Draft a habeas corpus petition under section 491 CrPC.** ## Sources - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 · Section 491(1): Power to issue directions of the nature of a habeas corpus --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Review status: Pending advocate review. FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.