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Section 305 BNSS: Prisoner to Be Brought to Court in Custody

Section 305 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 sets out the duty of the officer in charge of a prison when a valid Court order requires a confined or detained person to be produced before the Court.

Updated: September 11, 2026

What Section 305 BNSS Provides

Section 305 operates after a Court has issued an order under Section 302 BNSS requiring the attendance of a person confined or detained in prison. Its operation is expressly subject to Section 304 BNSS.

Text of Section 305 BNSS

305. Prisoner to be brought to Court in custody.

Subject to the provisions of section 304, the officer in charge of the prison shall, upon delivery of an order made under sub-section (1) of section 302 and duly countersigned, where necessary, under sub-section (2) thereof, cause the person named in the order to be taken to the Court in which his attendance is required, so as to be present there at the time mentioned in the order, and shall cause him to be kept in custody in or near the Court until he has been examined or until the Court authorises him to be taken back to the prison in which he was confined or detained.

Meaning and Legal Effect of Section 305

In practical terms, Section 305 requires prison authorities to comply with a duly issued and, where required, countersigned production order. The prisoner must be brought to the Court at the time specified in the order and must remain in lawful custody in or near the Court until the required examination is completed or the Court permits the prisoner to be returned to prison.

  • Valid production order: the process begins with an order under Section 302(1).
  • Countersignature where necessary: if Section 302(2) requires countersignature, that formality must be satisfied before production.
  • Subject to Section 304: the duty under Section 305 is not absolute; the statutory contingencies in Section 304 may require the prison officer to abstain from carrying out the order.
  • Attendance at the specified time: the prisoner must be taken to the Court where attendance is required and be present at the time stated in the order.
  • Continued custody: production before the Court does not by itself release the prisoner from custody.
  • Return to prison: the prisoner is returned when the Court authorises the return after examination or otherwise in accordance with the order and the Sanhita.

Section 302 - Power to Require Attendance of Prisoners

Section 302 BNSS is the enabling provision under which a Court may require the attendance of a person confined or detained in prison for answering a charge, for proceedings against that person, or for examination as a witness, subject to the statutory conditions.

Section 304 - When the Prison Officer May Abstain

Section 304 BNSS qualifies Section 305. Accordingly, before acting on a production order, the prison authority must consider whether any circumstance specified in Section 304 requires the order not to be carried out.

Section 306 - Commission for Examination of Witness in Prison

Section 306 BNSS provides a related mechanism concerning examination of a witness who is confined or detained in prison.

Current Legal Status

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 46 of 2023. It received Presidential assent on December 25, 2023. The Central Government appointed July 1, 2024 as the commencement date for the BNSS, subject to the exception stated in the commencement notification.

Official text: For authoritative statutory wording, readers should verify the current text of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code and consult applicable notifications issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Sections 301 to 310 BNSS