Procedure in respect of letter of request
Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with procedure in respect of letter of request. Every letter of request, summons or warrant, received by the Central Government from, and every letter of request, summons or warrant, to be transmitted to a contracting State under this Chapter shall be transmitted to a contracting State or, as the case may be, sent to the concerned Court in India The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Every letter of request, summons or warrant, received by the Central Government from, and every letter of request, summons or warrant, to be transmitted to a contracting State under this Chapter shall be transmitted to a contracting State or, as the case may be, sent to the concerned Court in India in such form and in such manner as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf.
Section 123, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 105K Procedure in respect of letter of request Text carried over almost unchanged 96%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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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Madhusudhan Jayaramu vs State of Karnataka
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 105K, 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: Procedure for letter of request; the court noted that the investigating agency failed to follow this procedure for obtaining evidence from 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 123
What have the courts held on Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Madhusudhan Jayaramu vs State of Karnataka (20 Jan 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 105K, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Procedure for letter of request; the court noted that the investigating agency failed to follow this procedure for obtaining evidence from Australia.
How do I find court cases under Section 123 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 123, section 123 BNSS, section 123 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 123 punishment and bns 123 in ipc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Madhusudhan Jayaramu vs State of Karnataka (20 Jan 2024).
What should I read with Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
It carries forward CrPC 105K (Procedure in respect of letter of request), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 123, 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 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.