Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter VI: Processes to Compel Appearance · A.—Summons
Section 63: Form of summons
In plain words
A court summons must either be in writing, in duplicate, signed by the presiding officer (or another officer the High Court authorises) and sealed, or be sent electronically, including in encrypted form, bearing an image of the court's seal or a digital signature.
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
Every summons issued by a Court under this Sanhita shall be,—
(i) in writing, in duplicate, signed by the presiding officer of such Court or by such other officer as the High Court may, from time to time, by rule direct, and shall bear the seal of the Court; or
(ii) in an encrypted or any other form of electronic communication and shall bear the image of the seal of the Court or digital signature.
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 63
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Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr.
Issue arose as to whether the usage of electronic communication can also be extended to the procedure governing the service of a notice, contemplated u/s.35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.