Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter V: Arrest of Persons
Section 52: Examination of person accused of rape by medical practitioner
In plain words
A person arrested for rape or attempted rape can be medically examined by a registered medical practitioner at a government or local authority hospital, or another doctor if none is available within sixteen kilometres, at a police officer's request, using reasonable force if needed.
- The report must record the accused's name, address, age, injuries, material taken for DNA profiling, other details and the reasons for each conclusion.
- The start and end times of the examination must be noted.
- The report goes to the investigating officer, who sends it to the Magistrate with the police report.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
(1) When a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of rape or an attempt to commit rape and there are reasonable grounds for believing that an examination of his person will afford evidence as to the commission of such offence, it shall be lawful for a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or by a local authority and in the absence of such a practitioner within the radius of sixteen kilometres from the place where the offence has been committed, by any other registered medical practitioner, acting at the request of any police officer, and for any person acting in good faith in his aid and under his direction, to make such an examination of the arrested person and to use such force as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.
(2) The registered medical practitioner conducting such examination shall, without any delay, examine such person and prepare a report of his examination giving the following particulars, namely:—
(i) the name and address of the accused and of the person by whom he was brought;
(ii) the age of the accused;
(iii) marks of injury, if any, on the person of the accused;
(iv) the description of material taken from the person of the accused for DNA profiling; and
(v) other material particulars in reasonable detail.
(3) The report shall state precisely the reasons for each conclusion arrived at.
(4) The exact time of commencement and completion of the examination shall also be noted in the report.
(5) The registered medical practitioner shall, without any delay, forward the report to the investigating officer, who shall forward it to the Magistrate referred to in section 193 as part of the documents referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (6) of that section.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 12 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 52
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.