Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 111
Definitions
In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “contracting State” means any country or place outside India in respect of which arrangements have been made by the Central Government with the Government of such country through a treaty or otherwise;
(b) “identifying” includes establishment of a proof that the property was derived from, or used in, the commission of an offence;
(c) “proceeds of crime” means any property derived or obtained directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity (including crime involving currency transfers) or the value of any such property;
(d) “property” means property and assets of every description whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible and deeds and instruments evidencing title to, or interest in, such property or assets derived or used in the commission of an offence and includes property obtained through proceeds of crime;
(e) “tracing” means determining the nature, source, disposition, movement, title or ownership of property.
Why this exists
As financial crime and money laundering increasingly cross national borders, Indian law needed a framework to cooperate with other countries in tracking, freezing, and confiscating criminal proceeds. This chapter (carried forward from Section 105A of the old Code of Criminal Procedure) sets up that mechanism, and this section fixes the precise meaning of its core vocabulary so that Indian authorities and foreign 'contracting States' interpret terms like 'property' and 'proceeds of crime' consistently.
How courts read it
Since this is a direct re-enactment of erstwhile CrPC Section 105A, courts have generally read these terms broadly and purposively—especially 'property,' which was interpreted expansively in money-laundering and asset-forfeiture cases to include bank accounts, business assets, and even value-equivalent property, not just physical items directly traceable to a crime. No major Supreme Court ruling specifically reinterprets this definitions clause differently under the new BNSS, as it mirrors settled law.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: 'Property' here only means land or buildings.
Fact: The definition is very broad and includes money, documents, digital assets, and any other kind of asset connected to a crime. - Myth: Any foreign country automatically qualifies as a 'contracting State.'
Fact: Only countries with which India's Central Government has made a specific treaty or arrangement count as 'contracting States.'