Complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany police officer and not to be subject to restraint
Section 191 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany police officer and not to be subject to restraint. No complainant or witness on his way to any Court shall be required to accompany a police officer, or shall be subjected to unnecessary restraint or inconvenience, or required to give any security for his appearance other than his own bond: Provided that if any complainant or witness refuses to atte The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
No complainant or witness on his way to any Court shall be required to accompany a police officer, or shall be subjected to unnecessary restraint or inconvenience, or required to give any security for his appearance other than his own bond:
Provided that if any complainant or witness refuses to attend or to execute a bond as directed in section 190, the officer in charge of the police station may forward him in custody to the Magistrate, who may detain him in custody until he executes such bond, or until the hearing of the case is completed.
Section 191, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 171 Complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany policeofficer and not to be subjected to restraint Text carried over almost unchanged 89%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
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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Smt Seema Devi vs State& ANR.
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 171, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where an allegation of false declaration in election nomination papers is not supported by evidence of document manipulation or interpolation in public registers, and the police investigation has found the declaration to be correct, the cognizance of non-cognizable offences cannot be sustained, and the revisional court is justified in quashing such cognizance. The High Court will not interfere with such revisional orders under Section 482 CrPC when the facts and circumstances are covered by established precedent.
On this section: Candidly conceded by petitioner's counsel that false declaration in nomination papers would give rise to only non-cognizable offence under this section
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 191
What have the courts held on Section 191 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Smt Seema Devi vs State& ANR. (01 Dec 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 171, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Candidly conceded by petitioner's counsel that false declaration in nomination papers would give rise to only non-cognizable offence under this section.
How do I find court cases under Section 191 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 191, section 191 BNSS, section 191 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bnss 191(2) in hindi and bnss 191 3 in hindi. 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 Smt Seema Devi vs State& ANR. (01 Dec 2017).
What should I read with Section 191 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 190 (Cases to be sent to Magistrate, when evidence is sufficient), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 171 (Complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany policeofficer and not to be subjected to restraint), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 191 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 191 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 191, 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.