Prosecution for offences against State and for criminal conspiracy to commit such offence
Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with prosecution for offences against State and for criminal conspiracy to commit such offence. No Court shall take cognizance of— (a) any offence punishable under Chapter VII or under section 196, section 299 or sub-section (1) of section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) No Court shall take cognizance of—
(a) any offence punishable under Chapter VII or under section 196, section 299 or sub-section (1) of section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; or
(b) a criminal conspiracy to commit such offence; or
(c) any such abetment, as is described in section 47 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or of the State Government.
(2) No Court shall take cognizance of—
(a) any offence punishable under section 197 or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; or
(b) a criminal conspiracy to commit such offence, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or of the State Government or of the District Magistrate.
(3) No Court shall take cognizance of the offence of any criminal conspiracy punishable under sub-section (2) of section 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, unless the State Government or the District Magistrate has consented in writing to the initiation of the proceedings:
Provided that where the criminal conspiracy is one to which the provisions of section 215 apply, no such consent shall be necessary.
(4) The Central Government or the State Government may, before according sanction under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) and the District Magistrate may, before according sanction under sub-section (2) and the State Government or the District Magistrate may, before giving consent under sub-section (3), order a preliminary investigation by a police officer not being below the rank of Inspector, in which case such police officer shall have the powers referred to in sub-section (3) of section 174.
Section 217, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 196 Prosecution for offences against the State and for criminalconspiracy to commit such offence Text carried over almost unchanged 88%
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. 47 Abetment in India of offences outside India
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita s. 61 Criminal conspiracy
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita s. 353 Statements conducing to public mischief
- s. 174 Information as to non-cognizable cases and investigation of such cases
- s. 196 Inquiry by Magistrate into cause of death
- s. 197 Ordinary place of inquiry and trial
- s. 215 . Prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of public servants, for offences against public justice and for offences relating to documents given in evidence
- s. 299 Statements of accused not to be used
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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Arun Pathak vs The State of Uttar Pradesh
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 196, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a petitioner seeks pre-arrest bail primarily on the ground of apprehension of imminent arrest and custodial interrogation, and the State, through its counsel, explicitly informs the Supreme Court that it does not require custodial interrogation of the petitioner and that statutory notice under Section 41A CrPC has been served, the Special Leave Petition becomes infructuous and stands disposed of without adjudication on the substantive merits of bail, as the fundamental cause for the petition—the threat of arrest—ceases to exist.
On this section: Requirement for sanction from government before prosecution for certain offenses including those under Section 153A IPC
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Shilpa Raj Kundra vs State
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 196, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Casual or non-malicious remarks made by public figures in interviews, lacking specific intent to promote enmity between distinct groups or to humiliate based on caste identity, and made years prior to FIR registration without explanation for delay, do not constitute criminal offences under Section 153A IPC or Section 3(1)(r)(u) of the SC/ST Act, 1989. The essential ingredients of these offences—mens rea, intent to promote enmity or humiliate based on caste, and government sanction—must be strictly established. Extraordinary delay in FIR registration raises grave doubts about truthfulness of allegations and constitutes abuse of process of law.
On this section: No court can take cognizance of offence under Section 153A IPC without prior sanction from Central or State Government. Court held that no such sanction was obtained in this case, rendering FIR liable to be quashed for non-compliance with mandatory legal prerequisites.
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 217
What have the courts held on Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Arun Pathak vs The State of Uttar Pradesh (10 Apr 2023) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 196, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Requirement for sanction from government before prosecution for certain offenses including those under Section 153A IPC. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2023 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 217 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 217, section 217 BNSS, section 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 217 and 248 and 217 bnss in crpc. 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 Arun Pathak vs The State of Uttar Pradesh (10 Apr 2023).
What should I read with Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 47 (Abetment in India of offences outside India), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 61 (Criminal conspiracy), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 353 (Statements conducing to public mischief), section 174 (Information as to non-cognizable cases and investigation of such cases), and on 4 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. It carries forward CrPC 196 (Prosecution for offences against the State and for criminalconspiracy to commit such offence), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 217, 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.