Section 191 BNSS: Complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany police officer and not to be subject to restraint (Formerly Section 171 CrPC)

Section 191 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany police officer and not to be subject to restraint

Official Bare Act Text

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

No complainant or witness on his way to any Court shall be required to accompany a police officer, or shall be subjected to unnecessary restraint or inconvenience, or required to give any security for his appearance other than his own bond:

Provided that if any complainant or witness refuses to attend or to execute a bond as directed in section 190, the officer in charge of the police station may forward him in custody to the Magistrate, who may detain him in custody until he executes such bond, or until the hearing of the case is completed.

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

Charge Sec 2(1)(b) Police Station Sec 2(1)(q)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 191

Section 191 protects complainants and witnesses from unnecessary harassment, providing that no complainant or witness on their way to court shall be required to accompany a police officer, or be subjected to unnecessary restraint or inconvenience.

Prohibition of Escort Restraint: Police cannot compel witnesses or victims to travel under armed police escort or restraint.
Freedom of Movement: Complainants and witnesses must be allowed to travel to court independently.
Refusal Exception Safeguards: A witness can be forwarded in custody only if they refuse to execute an attendance bond as required by law.

Key Landmark Precedents:

State of U.P. v. Shambhu Nath Singh (2001) 4 SCC 667: The Supreme Court noted that witnesses are the eyes and ears of justice and must be treated with dignity, free from police intimidation or surveillance.
Mahender Chawla v. Union of India (2019) 14 SCC 615: Reaffirmed that witness protection must protect witnesses from police coercion as well as accused intimidation.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

If police attempt to confine or coach prosecution witnesses in a police guest house before their court testimony, invoke Section 191 before the trial judge, praying that the witnesses be examined free from police presence.