Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XIII: Information to the Police and Their Powers to Investigate
Section 191: Complainant and witnesses not to be required to accompany police officer and not to be subject to restraint
In plain words
A complainant or witness on the way to court cannot be made to go with a police officer, put under unnecessary restraint, or asked for any security other than their own bond. If they refuse to attend or sign a bond, the police can send them to the Magistrate, who may detain them until they sign or the hearing ends.
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
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.
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 191
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.