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Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XIII: Information to the Police and Their Powers to Investigate

Section 179: Police officer's power to require attendance of witnesses

Earlier law: CrPC section 160 (Police officer‘s power to require attendance of witnesses)

In plain words

An investigating police officer can, by written order, require anyone within their own or an adjoining station's area who seems to know the facts of the case to attend before them, and the person must attend.

  • Males under fifteen years of age or above sixty years of age, women, disabled persons and people with acute illness cannot be required to attend anywhere other than where they live, though they may choose to go to the police station.
  • State rules may provide for paying the reasonable expenses of people who attend away from home.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

(1) Any police officer making an investigation under this Chapter may, by order in writing, require the attendance before himself of any person being within the limits of his own or any adjoining station who, from the information given or otherwise, appears to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case; and such person shall attend as so required:

Provided that no male person under the age of fifteen years or above the age of sixty years or a woman or a mentally or physically disabled person or a person with acute illness shall be required to attend at any place other than the place in which such person resides:

Provided further that if such person is willing to attend at the police station, such person may be permitted so to do.

(2) The State Government may, by rules made in this behalf, provide for the payment by the police officer of the reasonable expenses of every person, attending under sub-section (1) at any place other than his residence.

Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 12 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 179