Power of courts to require appearance of prisoners to give evidence or answer a charge
Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, 1955 deals with power of courts to require appearance of prisoners to give evidence or answer a charge. Any civil or criminal court may, if it thinks that the evidence of any person confined in any prison is material in any matter pending before it, make an order in the form set forth in the First Schedule, directed to the officer in charge of the prison: Provided that no civil court shall make an ord The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1956.
(1) Any civil or criminal court may, if it thinks that the evidence of any person confined in any prison is material in any matter pending before it, make an order in the form set forth in the First Schedule, directed to the officer in charge of the prison:
Provided that no civil court shall make an order under this sub-section in respect of a person confined in a prison situated outside the State in which the court is held.
(2) Any criminal court may, if a charge of an offence against a person confined in any prison is made or pending before it, make an order in the form set forth in the Second Schedule, directed to the officer in charge of the prison.
(3) No order made under this section by a civil court which is subordinate to a district judge shall have effect unless it is countersigned by the district judge; and no order made under this section by a criminal court which is inferior to the court of a magistrate of the first class shall have effect unless it is countersigned by the district magistrate to whom that court is subordinate or within the local limits of whose jurisdiction that court is situate.
(4) For the purposes of sub-section (3), a court of small causes outside a presidency town or the city of Hyderabad shall be deemed to be subordinate to the district judge within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such court is situate.
Section 3, The Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, 1955 (Act 32 of 1955).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 6
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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R.P. Vaghela v. State of Gujarat
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
DATE VERIFIED Judgment 2002-02-01 (order-1.pdf; 5-Judge FB): In contempt reference over handcuffing an under-trial produced in Sessions Court, the Full Bench located production under PAC s.3(2) court-attendance order and held Supreme Court handcuffing directions do not impose an absolute ban; escort may use handcuffs in extreme circumstances with contemporaneous reasons when bringing a charged prisoner to court under the attendance regime.
On this section: s.3 Power of courts to require appearance of prisoners — FB teaching that s.3(2) attendance orders frame court production of charged prisoners and coexist with limited, reasoned handcuffing for safe conduct.
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… been issued by the Court in Mumbai in the second case, therefore, the respondents did not have any other option but to ensure that the petitioner is kept in custody till there is due transit of the accused to the Court in Mumbai. Appreciating the submissions of the two sides, in the light of the records. Under Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts Act 1955 (in short the Prisoners Act ) empowers the Court to require appearance of persons to give evidence or answer a charge. Sub-Section 3 of Section 3 of the Prisoners Act in its application to the State of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh ensures that no order made under …
Made under this section, and citing it
2 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 3
What have the courts held on Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act?
R.P. Vaghela v. State of Gujarat (01 Feb 2002) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.3 Power of courts to require appearance of prisoners — FB teaching that s.3(2) attendance orders frame court production of charged prisoners and coexist with limited, reasoned handcuffing for safe conduct.
How do I find court cases under Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act?
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: Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act 3, section 3 Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act. 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 R.P. Vaghela v. State of Gujarat (01 Feb 2002).
What should I read with Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, and has it changed?
6 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. 2 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Punjab Prisoners (Attendance In Courts) Rules, 1969 (1969), then Punjab Prisoners (Attendance in Court) Rules, 1969 (1969).
When did Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act come into force?
Section 3 of the Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, cited as Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act 3, came into force on 01 Jan 1956, having been enacted on 20 Sep 1955. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 6. Officer in charge of prison when to abstain from carrying out order245 words
- 9. Power to make rules189 words
- 7. Commissions for examination of prisoners170 words
- 4. Power of State Government to exempt certain persons from operation of section 3143 words
- 10. Repeal125 words
- 5. Prisoners to be brought up100 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 23 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.