Section 101 BNSS: Power to Compel Restoration of Abducted Females

Section 101 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 empowers specified Magistrates to order the immediate restoration of a woman, or a female child, where a complaint made on oath alleges abduction or unlawful detention for an unlawful purpose. The provision also authorises the Magistrate to compel compliance with the restoration order by using such force as may be necessary.

Current law: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 46 of 2023) came into force on July 1, 2024, subject to the limited exception stated in the commencement notification. Section 101 corresponds broadly to former Section 98 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Text of Section 101 BNSS

101. Power to compel restoration of abducted females.

Upon complaint made on oath of the abduction or unlawful detention of a woman, or a female child for any unlawful purpose, a District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate or Magistrate of the first class may make an order for the immediate restoration of such woman to her liberty, or of such female child to her parent, guardian or other person having the lawful charge of such child, and may compel compliance with such order, using such force as may be necessary.

What Section 101 BNSS Means

The section provides a summary protective remedy before a competent Magistrate. Its focus is restoration of liberty and lawful custody rather than determination of criminal guilt. Once the statutory conditions are met, the Magistrate may direct immediate restoration and may enforce the order where necessary.

Complaint must be made on oath

The statutory trigger is a complaint made on oath. The complaint must allege either abduction or unlawful detention of a woman or a female child, and the alleged abduction or detention must be for an unlawful purpose.

Magistrates who may exercise the power

Section 101 expressly authorises a District Magistrate, a Sub-divisional Magistrate, or a Magistrate of the first class to make the restoration order.

Relief available for a woman

Where the person concerned is a woman, the Magistrate may order her immediate restoration to liberty. The wording places the emphasis on release from the alleged abduction or unlawful detention.

Relief available for a female child

Where the person concerned is a female child, the Magistrate may order immediate restoration to her parent, guardian, or another person having lawful charge of the child.

Power to compel compliance

The final part of Section 101 authorises the Magistrate to compel compliance with the restoration order and permits the use of such force as may be necessary. This power is tied to enforcement of the restoration order made under the section.

Essential Requirements of Section 101

There must be a complaint made on oath.
The complaint must concern abduction or unlawful detention.
The person concerned must be a woman or a female child.
The alleged abduction or unlawful detention must be for an unlawful purpose.
The application must be before a Magistrate specified in Section 101.
The Magistrate may order immediate restoration and compel compliance with that order.

Section 101 BNSS and Former Section 98 CrPC

Section 101 BNSS occupies the place of former Section 98 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The provisions are similar in purpose, but the wording is not identical. Former Section 98 expressly referred to a female child "under the age of eighteen years" and included "husband" among the persons to whom a female child could be restored. Those expressions do not appear in the enacted text of Section 101 BNSS.

Practical note: Section 101 should be read according to its enacted language and together with other applicable criminal, child-protection, guardianship, and personal-law provisions where the facts of a particular case require them. The appropriate remedy and forum can depend on the circumstances.

Related BNSS Provisions

Section 101 appears immediately after Section 100 BNSS on search for persons wrongfully confined and before Section 102 BNSS on directions relating to search warrants. The following provisions continue the general statutory framework concerning searches, seizure, impounding of documents, and related processes.