Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 279, BNSS: Non-appearance or death of complainant
Section 279 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in the Act's own words, with the CrPC provision it replaces.
What it replaces
| BNSS provision | CrPC provision | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Section 279 | Section 256 | corresponds |
From the Bureau of Police Research and Development's official comparison summary (source below). The whole table: CrPC to BNSS.
The section
279. Non-appearance or death of complainant.
(1) If the summons has been issued on complaint, and on the day appointed for the appearance of the accused, or any day subsequent thereto to which the hearing may be adjourned, the complainant does not appear, the Magistrate shall, after giving thirty days’ time to the complainant to be present, notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, acquit the accused, unless for some reason he thinks it proper to adjourn the hearing of the case to some other day: Provided that where the complainant is represented by an advocate or by the officer conducting the prosecution or where the Magistrate is of opinion that the personal attendance of the complainant is not necessary, the Magistrate may, dispense with his attendance and proceed with the case. (2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, so far as may be, apply also to cases where the non-appearance of the complainant is due to his death.The text is India Code's consolidated text as loaded into Pundora's statute corpus on 1 September 2026. A section quoted in a draft checked by Pundora is checked against this text.
Sources
- India Code: Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, section 279 (read 1 September 2026)
- Bureau of Police Research and Development: comparison summary, BNSS to CrPC (read 1 September 2026)