Service of summons on witness
Section 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with service of summons on witness. Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding sections of this Chapter, a Court issuing a summons to a witness may, in addition to and simultaneously with the issue of such summons, direct a copy of the summons to be served by electronic communication or by registered post addressed to the wit The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding sections of this Chapter, a Court issuing a summons to a witness may, in addition to and simultaneously with the issue of such summons, direct a copy of the summons to be served by electronic communication or by registered post addressed to the witness at the place where he ordinarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain.
(2) When an acknowledgement purporting to be signed by the witness or an endorsement purporting to be made by a postal employee that the witness refused to take delivery of the summons has been received or on the proof of delivery of summons under sub-section (3) of section 70 by electronic communication to the satisfaction of the Court, the Court issuing summons may deem that the summons has been duly served.
Section 71, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 69 Service of summons on witness by post Close, with changes 82%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
Questions about Section 71
What does Section 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita deal with?
Section 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita is headed "Service of summons on witness". Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding sections of this Chapter, a Court issuing a summons to a witness may, in addition to and simultaneously with the issue of such summons, direct a copy of the summons to be served by electronic communication or by registered post addressed to the wit
How do I find court cases under Section 71 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 71, section 71 BNSS, section 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 71 punishment and bns 71 1 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 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 70 (Proof of service in such cases and when serving officer not present), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 6 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 69 (Service of summons on witness by post), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 71 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 71, 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.