Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Chapter VIIA

Section 105K CrPC: Procedure in Respect of Letter of Request

Section 105K of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 prescribed the manner in which a letter of request, summons or warrant received by the Central Government from a contracting State, or required to be transmitted to a contracting State under Chapter VIIA, was to be routed. The provision placed the Central Government at the procedural channel for transmission and required the form and manner of transmission to be specified by Central Government notification.

Applicability note: This page explains Section 105K CrPC as it applied before the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. It is retained as a reference to the pre-BNSS criminal procedure framework and for matters in which the earlier Code remains relevant under applicable saving provisions.

Text of Section 105K CrPC

105K. Procedure in respect of letter of request.

Every letter of request, summons or warrant, received by the Central Government from, and every letter of request, summons or warrant, to be transmitted to a contracting State under this Chapter shall be transmitted to a contracting State or, as the case may be, sent to the concerned Court in India in such form and in such manner as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf.

Meaning and Scope of Section 105K

Section 105K formed part of Chapter VIIA of the CrPC, which dealt with reciprocal arrangements for assistance in certain matters and procedures concerning attachment and forfeiture of property. The section did not itself create a separate power to issue a letter of request, summons or warrant. Instead, it regulated the procedure for transmitting such instruments when they were received from, or were to be sent to, a contracting State under that Chapter.

What is a "contracting State"?

For Chapter VIIA, the expression was defined in Section 105A CrPC. In substance, it referred to a country or place outside India in respect of which arrangements had been made by the Central Government with the government of that country through a treaty or otherwise for enforcing the provisions of the Chapter.

What is a "letter of request"?

In the context of international criminal cooperation, a letter of request is a formal request made through the legally prescribed channel for assistance connected with investigation, evidence, process or other matters covered by the governing statutory provisions and reciprocal arrangements. Section 105K focused on the prescribed route, form and manner of transmission rather than independently defining the substantive scope of every such request.

How Section 105K Operated

It applied to a letter of request, summons or warrant covered by Chapter VIIA.
It covered instruments received by the Central Government from a contracting State.
It also covered instruments that were to be transmitted from India to a contracting State.
The instrument was to be transmitted to the contracting State or sent to the concerned Court in India, as the case required.
The form and manner of transmission were governed by specifications made by the Central Government through notification.

Relationship with Other Provisions of Chapter VIIA

Section 105K should be read as part of the wider statutory scheme. Section 105A contained definitions used in the Chapter, while Sections 105B to 105J dealt with different aspects of reciprocal assistance, transfer of persons, identification, attachment, management and forfeiture of property. Section 105L empowered the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to make application of the Chapter to a contracting State subject to specified conditions, exceptions or qualifications.

Position Before Implementation of BNSS

For the period governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Section 105K supplied the procedural rule for the transmission of letters of request, summonses and warrants under Chapter VIIA. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 subsequently replaced the CrPC framework from 1 July 2024, subject to the statutory transition and saving provisions. Accordingly, the date and nature of the proceeding should be considered before deciding whether the CrPC provision or the corresponding BNSS framework applies.

Practical Legal Significance

The importance of Section 105K lay in ensuring that international requests covered by Chapter VIIA followed the channel and procedure prescribed by the Central Government. This helped maintain an official process for cross-border transmission rather than leaving the manner of sending or receiving judicial instruments to informal arrangements.

This article is intended as general legal information on the pre-BNSS position. The applicable statute, notification, treaty or reciprocal arrangement should be checked for the facts and date of a particular matter.