Section 182 BNSS: No inducement to be offered (Formerly Section 163 CrPC)

Section 182 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: No inducement to be offered

Official Bare Act Text

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

(1) No police officer or other person in authority shall offer or make, or cause to be offered or made, any such inducement, threat or promise as is mentioned in section 22 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

(2) But no police officer or other person shall prevent, by any caution or otherwise, any person from making in the course of any investigation under this Chapter any statement which he may be disposed to make of his own free will:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall affect the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 183.

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

Investigation Sec 2(1)(h)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 182

Section 182 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 authorizes investigating police officers to conduct searches without warrant under urgent circumstances.

Process Issuance & Attendance: Section 182 empowers an officer in charge of a police station or investigating officer, having reasonable grounds for believing that anything necessary for investigation cannot otherwise be obtained without undue delay, to search any place within the limits of their police station without a warrant.
Sub-Section (1) Provision: Sub-section (1) and (3) mandate strict statutory prerequisites: the officer must record in writing the grounds of their belief and specify the thing to be searched for before commencing the search.

Under sub-section (5), copies of any record made under sub-sections (1) or (3) shall be sent forthwith to the nearest Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence.

Key Landmark Precedents:

State of Punjab v. Balbir Singh (1994) 3 SCC 299: The Supreme Court held that the requirement of recording reasons in writing prior to conducting a search without warrant under Section 165 CrPC (Sec 182 BNSS) is a mandatory procedural safeguard, non-compliance with which vitiates the search.
K.L. Subbayya v. State of Karnataka (1979) 2 SCC 115: Ruled that conducting a search without recording prior written reasons is an incurable illegality, entitling the accused to acquittal where recovery is the sole foundation.

Legal Commentary:

Section 182 grants urgent search powers but binds the officer to prior written reasons. In narcotics, contraband, and stolen property trials, the defense must scrutinize whether the officer recorded reasons in the general diary prior to conducting the search and dispatched them to the Magistrate without delay.