Section 140 BNSS: Power to reject sureties (Formerly Section 121 CrPC)

Section 140 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Power to reject sureties

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) A Magistrate may refuse to accept any surety offered, or may reject any surety previously accepted by him or his predecessor under this Chapter on the ground that such surety is an unfit person for the purposes of the bail bond:

Provided that before so refusing to accept or rejecting any such surety, he shall either himself hold an inquiry on oath into the fitness of the surety, or cause such inquiry to be held and a report to be made thereon by a Magistrate subordinate to him.

(2) Such Magistrate shall, before holding the inquiry, give reasonable notice to the surety and to the person by whom the surety was offered and shall, in making the inquiry, record the substance of the evidence adduced before him.

(3) If the Magistrate is satisfied, after considering the evidence so adduced either before him or before a Magistrate deputed under sub-section (1), and the report of such Magistrate (if any), that the surety is an unfit person for the purposes of the bail bond, he shall make an order refusing to accept or rejecting, as the case may be, such surety and recording his reasons for so doing:

Provided that before making an order rejecting any surety who has previously been accepted, the Magistrate shall issue his summons or warrant, as he thinks fit, and cause the person for whom the surety is bound to appear or to be brought before him.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Inquiry Sec 2(1)(g) Investigation Sec 2(1)(h) Victim Sec 2(1)(w)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 140

Section 140 empowers a Magistrate to reject any surety offered, or to disallow any surety previously accepted, on the ground that such surety is an unfit person for the purposes of the bond.

Power to Reject Surety: Magistrate may reject or cancel a surety considered unfit.
Mandatory Prior Inquiry: Magistrate MUST hold an inquiry on oath into the fitness of the surety before rejecting.
Recording of Reasons: Magistrate must record reasons for finding the surety unfit; mechanical rejections are invalid.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Moti Ram v. State of M.P. (1978) 4 SCC 47: Justice Krishna Iyer held that rejecting sureties on arbitrary geographic grounds (such as demanding sureties from the same district or owning real estate) is unconstitutional and defeats bail rights.
State of Maharashtra v. Babulal (1993) Supp 3 SCC 419: Affirmed that rejecting a surety requires recording objective reasons in a formal inquiry.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

If the SDM or court rejects a solvent surety merely because the surety resides in an adjacent district or does not own agricultural land, challenge the rejection under *Moti Ram*, citing Section 140(2).