Section 73 BNS: Printing or Publishing Court Proceedings Without Permission

Section 73 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 restricts the printing or publication of matter relating to court proceedings concerning offences referred to in Section 72 unless the Court has given previous permission. The provision also expressly protects publication of judgments of a High Court or the Supreme Court.

Text of Section 73 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

73. Printing or publishing any matter relating to Court proceedings without permission.— Whoever prints or publishes any matter in relation to any proceeding before a Court with respect to an offence referred to in section 72 without the previous permission of such Court shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.— The printing or publication of the judgment of any High Court or the Supreme Court does not amount to an offence within the meaning of this section.

Meaning and Scope of Section 73 BNS

Section 73 applies to matter connected with proceedings before a Court where the proceeding concerns an offence referred to in Section 72. Publication without the previous permission of that Court may attract criminal liability under Section 73.

The provision should therefore be read together with Section 72, which protects the identity of victims of specified offences. Section 73 adds a separate restriction concerning publication of material relating to the court proceedings themselves.

Essential Ingredients of Section 73

There must be a proceeding before a Court.
The proceeding must concern an offence referred to in Section 72 BNS.
A person must print or publish matter relating to that proceeding.
The publication must be without the previous permission of the Court concerned.
The statutory explanation excludes publication of judgments of a High Court or the Supreme Court from the offence.

Punishment Under Section 73

A person who contravenes Section 73 may be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term extending up to two years and is also liable to fine.

What Does "Previous Permission of Such Court" Mean?

The language of Section 73 requires permission before the printing or publication takes place. The permission must come from the Court before which the relevant proceeding is pending or conducted. Publication first and permission later would not satisfy the wording of the provision.

Exception for High Court and Supreme Court Judgments

Statutory exception: The Explanation to Section 73 states that printing or publishing a judgment of any High Court or of the Supreme Court does not constitute an offence under this section.

This exception is specific to judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Section 73 should not be read as a general permission to publish all material connected with proceedings covered by Section 72.

Relationship Between Section 72 and Section 73

Provision	Main Subject	Key Effect
Section 72	Disclosure of identity of victim of certain offences	Restricts publication of the victim's name or identifying matter, subject to statutory exceptions.
Section 73	Publication of matter relating to Court proceedings without permission	Restricts publication of matter relating to court proceedings concerning Section 72 offences unless previous permission of the Court is obtained.

Offences Covered Through Section 72

Because Section 73 refers to offences mentioned in Section 72, its operation is connected with proceedings involving offences under Sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 and 71 of the BNS. These provisions deal with specified sexual offences and related punishment provisions.

Commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 45 of 2023. The Central Government appointed July 1, 2024 as the date on which its provisions came into force, except sub-section (2) of Section 106.

Official Legal Resources

This page is intended for general legal information. For a particular matter, the exact statutory text, applicable procedural law and relevant judicial decisions should be examined together.