Letter of request to competent authority for investigation in a country or place outside India
Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with letter of request to competent authority for investigation in a country or place outside India. If, in the course of an investigation into an offence, an application is made by the investigating officer or any officer superior in rank to the investigating officer that evidence may be available in a country or place outside India, any Criminal Court may issue a letter of request to a Court or a The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) If, in the course of an investigation into an offence, an application is made by the investigating officer or any officer superior in rank to the investigating officer that evidence may be available in a country or place outside India, any Criminal Court may issue a letter of request to a Court or an authority in that country or place competent to deal with such request to examine orally any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case and to record his statement made in the course of such examination and also to require such person or any other person to produce any document or thing which may be in his possession pertaining to the case and to forward all the evidence so taken or collected or the authenticated copies thereof or the thing so collected to the Court issuing such letter.
(2) The letter of request shall be transmitted in such manner as the Central Government may specify in this behalf.
(3) Every statement recorded or document or thing received under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the evidence collected during the course of investigation under this Sanhita.
Section 112, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 166A Letter of request competent authority for investigation in a countryor place outside India Text carried over almost unchanged 94%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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State of M. P vs Balram Mihani
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 166A, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Chapter VII-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, provisions for attachment and forfeiture of property (Sections 105-A to 105-L) apply exclusively to offences that have international ramifications and involve reciprocal arrangements with contracting states as defined in Section 105-A(a), and do not apply to local offences committed within India such as gambling and ordinary offences under the Indian Penal Code. The proper interpretation requires reading the general language of Section 105-C(1) in the contextual background of the chapter's purpose as demonstrated by the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the legislative history, and the specific references throughout the chapter to contracting states and international criminal cooperation mechanisms.
On this section: Considered as supplemental provisions related to international cooperation, supporting interpretation that Chapter VII-A is specialized regime
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Madhusudhan Jayaramu vs State of Karnataka
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 166A, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an offence is alleged to have been committed outside India by an Indian citizen, the investigating agency must comply with the mandatory procedure prescribed under Sections 188, 105K, and 166A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, including obtaining sanction from the Central Government and recording statements of witnesses through letters of request to foreign courts. Failure to follow this procedure, combined with an incomplete investigation lacking statements from key witnesses and based solely on interested testimony without corroborating material, renders the charge sheet defective and the prosecution an abuse of process, warranting quashing of the charge sheet and entire proceedings under Section 482 CrPC.
On this section: Letter of request to competent authority for investigation in foreign country; the court held that this procedure should have been followed to record statements of witnesses in Australia
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 112
What have the courts held on Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
State of M. P vs Balram Mihani (01 Feb 2010) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 166A, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Considered as supplemental provisions related to international cooperation, supporting interpretation that Chapter VII-A is specialized regime. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2010 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNSS 112, section 112 BNSS, section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bnss 112 2. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with State of M. P vs Balram Mihani (01 Feb 2010).
What should I read with Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
It carries forward CrPC 166A (Letter of request competent authority for investigation in a countryor place outside India), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 112, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 359. Compounding of offences1355 words
- 187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1122 words
- 2. Definitions956 words
- 243. Trial for more than one offence930 words
- 35. When police may arrest without warrant881 words
- 480. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence823 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.