Section 319 BNSS: When Attendance of Witness May Be Dispensed With and Commission Issued
Section 319 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provides a procedure for examining a witness by commission when requiring the witness to attend personally would cause unreasonable delay, expense or inconvenience. It also contains a special rule for certain constitutional office-holders and permits the Court to protect the accused from reasonable expenses in specified prosecution-witness commissions.
Text of Section 319 BNSS
319. (1) Whenever, in the course of any inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Sanhita, it appears to a Court or Magistrate that the examination of a witness is necessary for the ends of justice, and that the attendance of such witness cannot be procured without an amount of delay, expense or inconvenience which, under the circumstances of the case, would be unreasonable, the Court or Magistrate may dispense with such attendance and may issue a commission for the examination of the witness in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter:
Provided that where the examination of the President or the Vice-President of India or the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union territory as a witness is necessary for the ends of justice, a commission shall be issued for the examination of such a witness.
(2) The Court may, when issuing a commission for the examination of a witness for the prosecution, direct that such amount as the Court considers reasonable to meet the expenses of the accused, including the advocate's fees, be paid by the prosecution.
What Section 319 BNSS Means
The ordinary course of a criminal inquiry, trial or other proceeding is to secure the attendance of a witness before the Court. Section 319 creates a procedural alternative where personal attendance would involve an unreasonable degree of delay, expense or inconvenience and the witness's examination remains necessary for the ends of justice.
In such a case, the Court or Magistrate may dispense with personal attendance and issue a commission so that the witness can be examined in the manner provided in the same Chapter of the BNSS. The provision therefore balances the need to obtain relevant evidence with the practical difficulty of requiring physical attendance in every case.
Conditions for Issuing a Commission Under Section 319
- The proceeding must be an inquiry, trial or other proceeding under the BNSS.
- The Court or Magistrate must consider examination of the witness necessary for the ends of justice.
- Procuring the witness's attendance must involve delay, expense or inconvenience that would be unreasonable in the circumstances.
- The Court or Magistrate may then dispense with personal attendance and issue a commission in accordance with the provisions of the Chapter.
Mandatory Commission for Certain Constitutional Office-Holders
The proviso to Section 319(1) applies where examination of the President of India, the Vice-President of India, the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union territory is necessary for the ends of justice. In such a case, the provision states that a commission shall be issued for examination of that witness.
Expenses of the Accused Under Section 319(2)
When a commission is issued for examination of a prosecution witness, the Court may direct the prosecution to pay an amount that the Court considers reasonable towards the accused's expenses. The statutory text expressly includes the advocate's fees within those expenses.
Meaning of "Inquiry" Under the BNSS
Section 2(1)(k) of the BNSS defines "inquiry" as every inquiry, other than a trial, conducted under the Sanhita by a Magistrate or Court. This definition helps explain the scope of Section 319, which applies during an inquiry as well as during a trial or other proceeding under the BNSS.
Related BNSS Provisions
Section 319 is the opening provision in the group dealing with commissions for examination of witnesses. The immediately following provisions regulate matters such as the authority to whom a commission is issued and the manner in which the commission is executed.
See also Section 318 BNSS - Record in High Court and Section 320 BNSS - Commission to whom to be issued.
Official Sources
Practical Summary
Section 319 enables evidence to be taken through a commission instead of insisting on the witness's personal attendance where the statutory conditions are satisfied. Whether personal attendance would cause unreasonable delay, expense or inconvenience depends on the circumstances of the case, while the examination itself must remain necessary for the ends of justice.