Section 203 BNSS: Offence Committed on Journey or Voyage

Section 203 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) determines territorial jurisdiction when an offence is committed while the relevant person or thing is in the course of a journey or voyage. It allows inquiry or trial by a competent court through or into whose local jurisdiction that person or thing passed during the journey or voyage.

In brief: If an offence is connected with a person or thing moving through different territorial jurisdictions during a journey or voyage, Section 203 permits the case to be inquired into or tried in any local jurisdiction through or into which that person or thing passed.

Text of Section 203, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

203. Offence committed on journey or voyage.

When an offence is committed whilst the person by or against whom, or the thing in respect of which, the offence is committed is in the course of performing a journey or voyage, the offence may be inquired into or tried by a Court through or into whose local jurisdiction that person or thing passed in the course of that journey or voyage.

Meaning of Section 203 BNSS

Ordinarily, territorial jurisdiction is linked to the place where an offence is committed. Section 203 creates a specific rule for situations in which the person connected with the offence, or the thing in respect of which the offence is committed, is moving from one place to another as part of a journey or voyage.

The provision prevents uncertainty merely because the relevant journey crosses more than one local jurisdiction. Instead of requiring the case to be tied to only one point on the route, it authorises inquiry or trial by a competent court in a jurisdiction through or into which the relevant person or thing passed.

Who or What Must Be on the Journey or Voyage?

Section 203 applies where any of the following is in the course of performing a journey or voyage:

the person by whom the offence is committed;
the person against whom the offence is committed; or
the thing in respect of which the offence is committed.

Which Court May Have Territorial Jurisdiction?

The section states that the offence may be inquired into or tried by a court through or into whose local jurisdiction the relevant person or thing passed during the journey or voyage. The provision therefore identifies a territorial connection; the court must still possess the necessary subject-matter and other jurisdiction required under the BNSS and applicable law.

Situation	Jurisdictional principle under Section 203
Accused is travelling when the offence is committed	A competent court through or into whose local jurisdiction the accused passed during the journey or voyage may have jurisdiction.
Victim is travelling when the offence is committed	A competent court through or into whose local jurisdiction the victim passed during the journey or voyage may have jurisdiction.
A thing connected with the offence is being transported	A competent court through or into whose local jurisdiction that thing passed during the journey or voyage may have jurisdiction.

Journey and Voyage: Practical Scope

The statutory language is broad and is not confined to one particular mode of transport. Depending on the facts of the case, a journey or voyage may involve movement by road, rail, air, sea, inland waterway, or another mode of travel. The controlling question under Section 203 is whether the person or thing specified by the provision was in the course of the relevant journey or voyage and passed through or into the local jurisdiction of the court concerned.

Section 203 BNSS and Former Section 183 CrPC

Section 203 BNSS corresponds to former Section 183 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The central jurisdictional rule remains substantially the same: an offence committed while the relevant person or thing is travelling may be dealt with by a court having local jurisdiction over a place through or into which that person or thing passed.

Effective date: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act 46 of 2023. The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which its provisions came into force, except the notified entry in the First Schedule relating to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Related BNSS Provisions on Place of Inquiry and Trial

Section 203 should be read with the surrounding territorial-jurisdiction provisions where relevant. See Section 201 - Place of trial in case of certain offences, Section 202 - Offences by electronic communications, letters, etc., and Section 204 - Place of trial for offences triable together.

Key Points

Section 203 is a rule concerning territorial jurisdiction.
It applies when the relevant person or thing is in the course of a journey or voyage.
The relevant person may be the person by whom or against whom the offence is committed.
The provision also covers a thing in respect of which the offence is committed.
More than one local jurisdiction along the route may potentially satisfy the statutory territorial connection.
The court must otherwise be competent to inquire into or try the offence under applicable law.

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026.