Examination of accused by medical practitioner at request of police officer
Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with examination of accused by medical practitioner at request of police officer. When a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of such a nature and alleged to have been committed under such circumstances that there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of his person will afford evidence as to the commission of an offence, it shall be lawful fo The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) When a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of such a nature and alleged to have been committed under such circumstances that there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of his person will afford evidence as to the commission of an offence, it shall be lawful for a registered medical practitioner, acting at the request of any police officer, and for any person acting in good faith in his aid and under his direction, to make such an examination of the person arrested as is reasonably necessary in order to ascertain the facts which may afford such evidence, and to use such force as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.
(2) Whenever the person of a female is to be examined under this section, the examination shall be made only by, or under the supervision of, a female registered medical practitioner.
(3) The registered medical practitioner shall, without any delay, forward the examination report to the investigating officer.
Explanation.---In this section and sections 52 and 53,---
(a) "examination" shall include the examination of blood, blood stains, semen, swabs in case of sexual offences, sputum and sweat, hair samples and finger nail clippings by the use of modern and scientific techniques including DNA profiling and such other tests which the registered medical practitioner thinks necessary in a particular case;
(b) "registered medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner who possesses any medical qualification recognised under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (30 of 2019) and whose name has been entered in the National Medical Register or a State Medical Register under that Act.
Section 51, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 53 Examination of accused by medical practitioner at the request ofpolice officer Close, with changes 77%
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.
Questions about Section 51
What does Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita deal with?
Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita is headed "Examination of accused by medical practitioner at request of police officer". When a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of such a nature and alleged to have been committed under such circumstances that there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of his person will afford evidence as to the commission of an offence, it shall be lawful fo
How do I find court cases under Section 51 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 51, section 51 BNSS, section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bnss 51 52 53 in hindi. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 52 (Examination of person accused of rape by medical practitioner), section 53 (Examination of arrested person by medical officer), 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 53 (Examination of accused by medical practitioner at the request ofpolice officer), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 51 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 51, 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.