Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 3, BNSS: Construction of references
Section 3 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 3 | Section 3 | corresponds |
From the Bureau of Police Research and Development's official comparison summary (source below). The whole table: CrPC to BNSS.
The section
3. Construction of references.
(1) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in any law, to a Magistrate without any qualifying words, Magistrate of the first class or a Magistrate of the second class shall, in relation to any area, be construed as a reference to a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or Judicial Magistrate of the second class, as the case may be, exercising jurisdiction in such area. (2) Where, under any law, other than this Sanhita, the functions exercisable by a Magistrate relate to matters,— (a) which involve the appreciation or shifting of evidence or the formulation of any decision which exposes any person to any punishment or penalty or detention in custody pending investigation, inquiry or trial or would have the effect of sending him for trial before any Court, they shall, subject to the provisions of this Sanhita, be exercisable by a Judicial Magistrate; or (b) which are administrative or executive in nature, such as, the granting of a licence, the suspension or cancellation of a licence, sanctioning a prosecution or withdrawing from a prosecution, they shall, subject to the provisions of clause (a) be exercisable by an Executive Magistrate.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 3 (read 1 September 2026)
- Bureau of Police Research and Development: comparison summary, BNSS to CrPC (read 1 September 2026)