Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XXIV: Attendance of Persons Confined or Detained in Prisons
Section 304: Officer in charge of prison to abstain from carrying out order in certain contingencies
In plain words
The prison officer must not carry out a production order, and must send the court reasons, if the prisoner is too sick or infirm to move, is committed or remanded pending trial or investigation, has a custody period that would end before they could be returned, or is covered by a government order under section 303.
- Being on remand is not a reason to refuse if the evidence is needed within twenty-five kilometres of the prison.
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
Where the person in respect of whom an order is made under section 302—-
(a) is by reason of sickness or infirmity unfit to be removed from the prison; or
(b) is under committal for trial or under remand pending trial or pending a preliminary investigation; or
(c) is in custody for a period which would expire before the expiration of the time required for complying with the order and for taking him back to the prison in which he is confined or detained; or
(d) is a person to whom an order made by the State Government or the Central Government under section 303 applies,
the officer in charge of the prison shall abstain from carrying out the Court's order and shall send to the Court a statement of reasons for so abstaining:
Provided that where the attendance of such person is required for giving evidence at a place not more than twenty-five kilometres distance from the prison, the officer in charge of the prison shall not so abstain for the reason mentioned in clause (b).
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 304
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.