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Section 177 BNSS 2023: Report How Submitted

Section 177 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with the route by which a report made under Section 176 BNSS may be sent to the Magistrate. Where the State Government so directs, the report is submitted through a superior police officer appointed for that purpose.

Text of Section 177 BNSS

Meaning and scope of Section 177

Section 177 creates an administrative channel for forwarding a report prepared under Section 176. It does not require every report to pass through a superior police officer. The additional channel applies only where the State Government has issued a direction and has appointed a superior police officer by a general or special order.

1. Report under Section 176

The provision operates in relation to a report sent to a Magistrate under Section 176 BNSS, which deals with the procedure for investigation. Section 177 therefore concerns the manner of submission of that report rather than the substantive power to investigate.

2. State Government direction is necessary

The words "if the State Government so directs" make the superior-officer route conditional. The State Government may prescribe the route through a general order applicable broadly or through a special order for a particular class of cases, area, or administrative arrangement.

3. Role of the superior police officer

The superior officer may give instructions to the officer in charge of the police station. Any such instructions are to be recorded on the report before it is forwarded.

4. Report must reach the Magistrate without delay

After recording any instructions, the superior officer is required to transmit the report to the Magistrate without delay. The provision therefore permits supervisory review while preserving prompt judicial communication.

Relationship between Sections 176 and 177 BNSS

Section 176 deals with the procedure for investigation, while Section 177 addresses how the related report is submitted when the State Government has prescribed a superior-officer channel. The two sections should therefore be read together.

Practical effect of Section 177

• A report under Section 176 may be routed through a designated superior police officer.
• The routing requirement depends on a State Government direction.
• The superior officer may issue instructions to the officer in charge of the police station.
• Those instructions must be recorded on the report.
• The report must then be transmitted to the Magistrate without delay.

Official source

For the authoritative statutory text, refer to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code.

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