Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 112
Letter of request to competent authority for investigation in a country or place outside
(1) If, in the course of an investigation into an offence, an application is made by the investigating officer or any officer superior in rank to the investigating officer that evidence may be available in a country or place outside India, any Criminal Court may issue a letter of request to a Court or an authority in that country or place competent to deal with such request to examine orally any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case and to record his statement made in the course of such examination and also to require such person or any other person to produce any document or thing which may be in his possession pertaining to the case and to forward all the evidence so taken or collected or the authenticated copies thereof or the thing so collected to the Court issuing such letter.
(2) The letter of request shall be transmitted in such manner as the Central Government may specify in this behalf.
(3) Every statement recorded or document or thing received under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the evidence collected during the course of investigation under this Sanhita.
Why this exists
As crime increasingly crosses borders—through financial fraud, cybercrime, terrorism, or organized crime—investigators often need evidence located outside India, such as witness testimony or bank records abroad. Since Indian courts and police have no power to compel action in a foreign country, this provision creates a formal diplomatic and judicial channel (a 'letter rogatory' or letter of request) so that foreign courts or authorities can assist. This mechanism was originally introduced in the Code of Criminal Procedure (as Section 166A) to support international cooperation in criminal investigations, and BNSS Section 112 continues and restates that mechanism.
How courts read it
Under the predecessor provision (CrPC Section 166A), courts have held that evidence gathered through letters rogatory is valid and admissible even though the process itself occurs outside India, since the foreign court or authority acts as an extension of the Indian investigative process for that specific purpose. Courts have also emphasized that such requests must go through proper government-approved channels to maintain diplomatic propriety and ensure authenticity of the evidence collected.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Indian police can directly go abroad and question witnesses or collect evidence themselves.
Fact: They cannot; only a formal letter of request from an Indian court to a foreign court or authority allows such evidence gathering abroad. - Myth: Evidence collected in a foreign country under this process is treated differently or as weaker evidence.
Fact: Sub-section (3) makes clear that such evidence is legally deemed the same as evidence collected during a normal investigation in India.