Section 84 BNSS: Proclamation for person absconding (Formerly Section 82 CrPC)

Section 84 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Proclamation for person absconding

Official Bare Act Text

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

(1) If any Court has reason to believe (whether after taking evidence or not) that any person against whom a warrant has been issued by it has absconded or is concealing himself so that such warrant cannot be executed, such Court may publish a written proclamation requiring him to appear at a specified place and at a specified time not less than thirty days from the date of publishing such proclamation.

(2) The proclamation shall be published as follows:—

(i) (a) it shall be publicly read in some conspicuous place of the town or village in which such person ordinarily resides;

(b) it shall be affixed to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which such person ordinarily resides or to some conspicuous place of such town or village;

(c) a copy thereof shall be affixed to some conspicuous part of the Court-house;

(ii) the Court may also, if it thinks fit, direct a copy of the proclamation to be published in a daily newspaper circulating in the place in which such person ordinarily resides.

(3) A statement in writing by the Court issuing the proclamation to the effect that the proclamation was duly published on a specified day, in the manner specified in clause (i) of sub-section (2), shall be conclusive evidence that the requirements of this section have been complied with, and that the proclamation was published on such day.

(4) Where a proclamation published under sub-section (1) is in respect of a person accused of an offence which is made punishable with imprisonment of ten years or more, or imprisonment for life or with death under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or under any other law for the time being in force, and such person fails to appear at the specified place and time required by the proclamation, the Court may, after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, pronounce him a proclaimed offender and make a declaration to that effect.

(5) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) shall apply to a declaration made by the Court under sub-section (4) as they apply to the proclamation published under sub-section (1).

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 84

Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 governs the publication of proclamations against absconding persons evading execution of arrest warrants.

Statutory Powers & Jurisdiction: Section 84 empowers the Court to publish a written proclamation requiring an accused to appear at a specified place and time not less than thirty days from the date of publishing, if the Court has reason to believe that the person has absconded or is concealing themselves.
Sub-Section (2) Provision: Sub-section (2) prescribes strict publication modalities: public reading in the person's locality, affixing at their residence, affixing at the courthouse, and optional publication in daily newspapers.

Sub-section (4) permits declaring an accused a 'proclaimed offender' for specified heinous offences carrying ten years or more imprisonment.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Lavesh v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2012) 8 SCC 730: The Supreme Court settled that an accused against whom a proclamation under Section 82 CrPC (Sec 84 BNSS) has been issued is disentitled to the discretionary relief of anticipatory bail.
State of M.P. v. Pradeep Sharma (2014) 2 SCC 171: Reaffirmed that when a person is declared an absconder or proclaimed offender, granting pre-arrest bail is impermissible unless exceptional circumstances exist.

Legal Commentary:

Section 84 is a stringent coercive threshold. The 30-day statutory notice is mandatory and strictly calculated from the date of publication, not the date of the order. Any mathematical or procedural defect in publication renders the proclamation void ab initio, invalidating subsequent proceedings under Section 85.