Section 52 BNSS: Examination of person accused of rape by medical practitioner (Formerly Section 53A CrPC)

Section 52 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Examination of person accused of rape by medical practitioner

Official Bare Act Text

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

(1) When a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of rape or an attempt to commit rape and there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of his person will afford evidence as to the commission of such offence, it shall be lawful for a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or by a local authority and in the absence of such a practitioner within the radius of sixteen kilometres from the place where the offence has been committed, by any other registered medical practitioner, acting at the request of any police officer, and for any person acting in good faith in his aid and under his direction, to make such an examination of the arrested person and to use such force as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.

(2) The registered medical practitioner conducting such examination shall, without any delay, examine such person and prepare a report of his examination giving the following particulars, namely:—

(i) the name and address of the accused and of the person by whom he was brought;

(ii) the age of the accused;

(iii) marks of injury, if any, on the person of the accused;

(iv) the description of material taken from the person of the accused for DNA profiling; and

(v) other material particulars in reasonable detail.

(3) The report shall state precisely the reasons for each conclusion arrived at.

(4) The exact time of commencement and completion of the examination shall also be noted in the report.

(5) The registered medical practitioner shall, without any delay, forward the report to the investigating officer, who shall forward it to the Magistrate referred to in section 193 as part of the documents referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (6) of that section.

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

Arrest Sec 35

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 52

Section 52 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 mandates the detailed medical examination of a person accused of rape or sexual assault.

Framing & Alteration of Charges: Section 52 requires that when a person is arrested on a charge of committing rape or an attempt to commit rape, and there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of their person will afford evidence, they shall be examined by a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or local authority.
Core Legal Standard: The examining doctor must prepare a detailed report specifying the name and address of the accused, description of injuries, marks of trauma, condition of genitalia, DNA sampling, and other forensic traces, concluding with exact reasoning for each finding.

The report must be forwarded forthwith to the investigating officer.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Krishan Kumar Malik v. State of Haryana (2011) 7 SCC 130: The Supreme Court held that medical examination of the rape accused under statutory provisions is vital to collect DNA and forensic traces; failure to conduct such examination can weaken the prosecution case.
Chhotanney v. State of U.P. (2009) 12 SCC 375: Emphasized that medical findings on penile injuries, smegma, and biological traces provide essential corroborative evidence in sexual offence trials.

Legal Commentary:

Section 52 is a vital statutory mechanism in sexual offence investigations. In defense advocacy, discrepancies between the alleged timeline of the assault and the clinical findings documented in the Section 52 report often form the core of cross-examination.