Opening case for prosecution
Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with opening case for prosecution. When the accused appears or is brought before the Court, in pursuance of a commitment of the case under section 232, or under any other law for the time being in force, the prosecutor shall open his case by describing the charge brought against the accused and stating by what evidence he proposes to The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
When the accused appears or is brought before the Court, in pursuance of a commitment of the case under section 232, or under any other law for the time being in force, the prosecutor shall open his case by describing the charge brought against the accused and stating by what evidence he proposes to prove the guilt of the accused.
Section 249, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 226 Opening case for prosecution Text carried over almost unchanged 97%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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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Ghulam Hassan Beigh vs Mohammad Maqbool Magrey
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 226, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
At the stage of framing charges under Sections 227 and 228 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the trial court must apply its judicial mind and sift the evidence placed before it by the prosecution for the limited purpose of determining whether a prima facie case has been made out. The court cannot conduct a mini-trial or rely solely on post-mortem reports to determine the nexus between alleged assault and death. The post-mortem report is not substantive evidence but merely a previous statement of the doctor; only the doctor's oral testimony in court constitutes substantive evidence. Whether the cause of death has any nexus with the alleged assault can only be determined after recording oral evidence of eye witnesses and the medical officer as an expert witness. The determination of whether a case falls under Section 302 IPC (murder) or Section 304 Part II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) must be made only after evaluation of the entire oral evidence led by both prosecution and defence at the end of the trial, not at the charge-framing stage. If a prima facie case is made out based on the materials placed by the prosecution, even if those materials give rise to strong suspicion, the charge should be framed in accordance with the case put up by the prosecution, and the accused should be given the opportunity to defend against the higher charge at trial.
On this section: Opening case for prosecution - the Court emphasized that prosecution owes duty to give fair idea to court regarding its case; this section has gone into oblivion but remains important
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 249
What have the courts held on Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Ghulam Hassan Beigh vs Mohammad Maqbool Magrey (26 Jul 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 226, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Opening case for prosecution - the Court emphasized that prosecution owes duty to give fair idea to court regarding its case; this section has gone into oblivion but remains important.
How do I find court cases under Section 249 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 249, section 249 BNSS, section 249 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type 249 bnss act and bns 249 b. 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 Ghulam Hassan Beigh vs Mohammad Maqbool Magrey (26 Jul 2022).
What should I read with Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 232 (Commitment of case to Court of Session when offence is triable exclusively by it), so none of them can safely be read on its own. It carries forward CrPC 226 (Opening case for prosecution), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 249, 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.