Section 105 CrPC - Reciprocal Arrangements Regarding Processes
Section 105 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provided a framework for serving or executing criminal court processes beyond the issuing court's territorial jurisdiction. Its corresponding provision under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Section 110 BNSS.
What does Section 105 CrPC provide?
The provision addresses reciprocal arrangements for serving summons and executing warrants between courts in different jurisdictions, including foreign countries with which the Central Government has made relevant arrangements. It covers four categories of criminal process:
- A summons requiring an accused person to appear.
- A warrant for the arrest of an accused person.
- A summons requiring a person to attend and produce a document or other thing, or simply to produce it.
- A search warrant authorising a search.
Section 105(1) CrPC - Processes issued for execution elsewhere
Section 105(1)(i): Other courts within India
Where a process needed to be served or executed in the jurisdiction of a court in a State or area outside the territories to which the Code extended, the issuing court could send it in duplicate, by post or otherwise, to the presiding officer of the receiving court. Proof of service of relevant summons was governed by Section 68 CrPC.
Section 105(1)(ii): Processes sent to a contracting State
Where the Central Government had arranged with another country or place for service or execution of criminal processes, the issuing court could transmit the process in duplicate, in the prescribed form and through the authority specified by Central Government notification. The provision did not permit a court to bypass the designated international transmission mechanism.
Section 105(2) CrPC - Processes received for execution
A court receiving a summons, arrest warrant, document-production summons or search warrant from an eligible court or contracting State was required to cause it to be served or executed as though it had been received from another court within its own jurisdiction, subject to the statutory requirements.
- Arrest warrants: After execution, the arrested person was, so far as possible, to be dealt with under Sections 80 and 81 CrPC.
- Search warrants: Things found during execution were, so far as possible, to be dealt with under Section 101 CrPC.
- Documents and property from a contracting State: Where a foreign summons or search warrant had been executed, the resulting documents or things were to be forwarded to the issuing court through the Central Government-notified authority.
Section 110 BNSS - Corresponding law in force
Section 110 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, titled "Reciprocal arrangements regarding processes", substantially carries forward the mechanism under Section 105 CrPC. It deals with both outgoing processes sent for service or execution and incoming processes received from eligible courts or contracting States.
The updated statutory cross-references under Section 110 BNSS are:
- Section 70 BNSS: Proof of service in specified cases, corresponding to Section 68 CrPC.
- Sections 82 and 83 BNSS: Procedures relating to a person arrested under a warrant, corresponding to Sections 80 and 81 CrPC.
- Section 104 BNSS: Disposal of things found in a search beyond jurisdiction, corresponding to Section 101 CrPC.
Meaning of important legal expressions
Reciprocal arrangements
Arrangements enabling courts or designated authorities in different jurisdictions to assist one another in the service or execution of specified judicial processes.
Contracting State
For the purposes of Section 110 BNSS, a country or place outside India with which the Central Government has made arrangements for the service or execution of summons or warrants in criminal matters. The precise scope depends on the applicable arrangement and notifications.
Summons
A judicial process requiring a person to appear before a court or to produce specified documents or things, as directed.
Search warrant
A judicial authorisation permitting a search in accordance with the applicable procedural law and the terms of the warrant.
Practical application of reciprocal criminal processes
For example, if an Indian criminal court needs a witness in a contracting State to produce a document, it must use the statutory transmission route and any applicable notified arrangements. Similarly, when an eligible foreign court's search warrant is received through the prescribed mechanism, the executing Indian court must follow Indian procedural requirements and the rules for forwarding recovered material.
Whether assistance is available in a particular country, and the prescribed form or transmission channel, must be checked against the relevant treaty, arrangement and Central Government notification.
Historical amendments to Section 105 CrPC
The text of Section 105 CrPC reflected amendments made by Act 32 of 1988, Section 2, effective from 25 May 1988. Those amendments addressed cross-border service and execution and the forwarding of documents or things obtained through execution of processes from contracting States.
Official statutory references
- Bureau of Police Research and Development - Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (official PDF)
- National Crime Records Bureau - BNSS section index
- India Code - Central legislation and amendments
This article is general legal information. Consult the current statutory text, relevant notifications and case-specific orders before relying on any procedure.