VoxJuris
Home › Acts › CrPC › Chapter V › Section 53A

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 · Chapter V: Arrest of Persons

Section 53A: Examination of person accused of rape by medical practitioner

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to matters and proceedings from before that date, as the repealing law provides.

Now in the BNSS 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, at the request of a police officer of at least sub-inspector rank, by a registered medical practitioner at a government or local authority hospital, or another practitioner if none is available within sixteen kilometres. Reasonable force can be used.

  • The report must record the accused's name, address and age, any injuries, material taken for DNA profiling, other details, reasons for each conclusion, and the exact start and end times.
  • It must be sent without delay to the investigating officer, who forwards 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 a police officer not below the rank of a sub-inspector, 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. 1 Subs. by Act 25 of 2005, s. 8, for the Explanation (w.e.f. 23-6-2006). 2. Ins. by s. 9, ibid. (w.e.f. 23-6-2006).

(2) The registered medical practitioner conducting such examination shall, without 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 delay, forward the report to the investigating officer, who shall forward it to the Magistrate referred to in section 173 as part of the documents referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (5) 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 (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. 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 53A