Security for good behaviour from persons disseminating certain matters
Section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with security for good behaviour from persons disseminating certain matters. When an Executive Magistrate receives information that there is within his local jurisdiction any person who, within or without such jurisdiction,— (i) either orally or in writing or in any other manner, intentionally disseminates or attempts to disseminate or abets the dissemination of,— (a) any ma The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) When an Executive Magistrate receives information that there is within his local jurisdiction any person who, within or without such jurisdiction,—
(i) either orally or in writing or in any other manner, intentionally disseminates or attempts to disseminate or abets the dissemination of,—
(a) any matter the publication of which is punishable under section 152 or section 196 or section 197 or section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023); or
(b) any matter concerning a Judge acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duties which amounts to criminal intimidation or defamation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023;
(ii) makes, produces, publishes or keeps for sale, imports, exports, conveys, sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any other manner puts into circulation any obscene matter such as is referred to in section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,
and the Magistrate is of opinion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding, the Magistrate may, in the manner hereinafter provided, require such person to show cause why he should not be ordered to execute a bond or bail bond, for his good behaviour for such period, not exceeding one year, as the Magistrate thinks fit.
(2) No proceedings shall be taken under this section against the editor, proprietor, printer or publisher of any publication registered under, and edited, printed and published in conformity with, the rules laid down in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867) with reference to any matter contained in such publication except by the order or under the authority of the State Government or some officer empowered by the State Government in this behalf.
Section 127, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 108 Security for good behaviour from persons disseminating seditiousmatters Text carried over almost unchanged 85%
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.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita s. 294 Sale, etc., of obscene books, etc
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita s. 299 Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs
- s. 152 Conditional order for removal of nuisance
- s. 196 Inquiry by Magistrate into cause of death
- s. 197 Ordinary place of inquiry and trial
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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Pramod Kumar vs State of Uttar Pradesh
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 108, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A notice issued under Section 111/112 CrPC on a printed proforma without setting forth the substance of information received by the Magistrate, the magistrate's opinion on likelihood of breach of peace, and specific details of allegations against the person is defective, invalid, and liable to be quashed. The mandatory elements prescribed by Section 111 CrPC must be strictly complied with, and the object of setting forth the substance of information is to inform the person what allegations they have to answer. Proceedings based on such defective notice cannot be sustained.
On this section: Cited as part of the framework for preventive detention proceedings
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Yanamadala Anil Chand vs The State of Andhra Pradesh
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 108, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where a person has been acquitted in most criminal cases, has not been involved in any criminal activity for several years, and has no pending cases, the continuation of a rowdy sheet without any current justification may be deemed arbitrary. In such circumstances, the appropriate remedy is to permit the person to make a representation before the competent police authority (Sub-Divisional Police Officer) for closure of the rowdy sheet, rather than granting absolute mandamus, thereby balancing law enforcement interests with individual rehabilitation rights.
On this section: Applied in context of binding over petitioner for good behavior in Cr.No.56/2004 and Cr.No.164/2005
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Cimal Raveendran vs S.i. of Police
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 108, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Initiation of proceedings under Section 107 Cr.P.C by a magistrate under Section 111 Cr.P.C is a matter of great consequence requiring due and proper application of mind to relevant facts and materials before passing such an order. An order passed without such careful and cautious application of mind, particularly where the magistrate fails to consider the specific crime registered against the accused or to properly distinguish between Sections 107 and 108 Cr.P.C, is liable to be set aside on judicial review.
On this section: Security for good behaviour - court noted confusion between Section 107 and 108 in the impugned order
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… There is an affidavit of Superintendent of Police, Solan, on record regarding the incident which had taken place, in case FIR No. 01 of 2025, under Sections 103, 127(2) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, registered at Police Station, Sadar, District Solan, against one Sonu. It is made clear that we are not commenting on the said FIR, which is lodged at Police Station Solan as the Public Interest Litigation, as such was not related to the incident at Solan. 8. …
Questions about Section 127
What have the courts held on Section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Pramod Kumar vs State of Uttar Pradesh (03 Aug 2021) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 108, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Cited as part of the framework for preventive detention proceedings. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2009 to 2021.
How do I find court cases under Section 127 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 127, section 127 BNSS, section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bnss 127(2). Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Pramod Kumar vs State of Uttar Pradesh (03 Aug 2021).
What should I read with Section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 294 (Sale, etc., of obscene books, etc), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), section 152 (Conditional order for removal of nuisance), section 196 (Inquiry by Magistrate into cause of death), and on 1 further provision, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 108 (Security for good behaviour from persons disseminating seditiousmatters), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 127, 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.