An order under section 130 is a final punishment.

It's only a preliminary step; the Magistrate must still hold a full inquiry to verify the truth of the allegations before any binding order is confirmed.

The Magistrate can keep the inquiry open indefinitely if they think it's necessary.

The law caps the inquiry at six months, extendable only with specific, written 'special reasons', and detention during inquiry is capped separately at six months regardless of extensions.

Anyone can be asked to sign a good-behaviour bond during the inquiry.

Only persons already facing proceedings under sections 127, 128, or 129 can be asked to execute such a bond, and its terms cannot be harsher than the original order under section 130.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 135

Inquiry as to truth of information

(1) When an order under section 130 has been read or explained under section 131 to a person present in Court, or when any person appears or is brought before a Magistrate in compliance with, or in execution of, a summons or warrant, issued under section 132, the Magistrate shall proceed to inquire into the truth of the information upon which action has been taken, and to take such further evidence as may appear necessary.§

(2) Such inquiry shall be made, as nearly as may be practicable, in the manner hereinafter prescribed for conducting trial and recording evidence in summons-cases.§

(3) After the commencement, and before the completion, of the inquiry under sub-section (1), the Magistrate, if he considers that immediate measures are necessary for the prevention of a breach of the peace or disturbance of the public tranquillity or the commission of any offence or for the public safety, may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, direct the person in respect of whom the order under section 130 has been made to execute a bond or bail bond, for keeping the peace or maintaining good behaviour until the conclusion of the inquiry, and may detain him in custody until such bond or bail bond is executed or, in default of execution, until the inquiry is concluded: Provided that—§

(a) no person against whom proceedings are not being taken under section 127, section 128, or section 129 shall be directed to execute a bond or bail bond for maintaining good behaviour;§

(b) the conditions of such bond, whether as to the amount thereof or as to the provision of sureties or the number thereof or the pecuniary extent of their liability, shall not be more onerous than those specified in the order under section 130.§

(4) For the purposes of this section the fact that a person is a habitual offender or is so desperate and dangerous as to render his being at large without security hazardous to the community may be proved by evidence of general repute or otherwise.§

(5) Where two or more persons have been associated together in the matter under inquiry, they may be dealt with in the same or separate inquiries as the Magistrate shall think just.§

(6) The inquiry under this section shall be completed within a period of six months from the date of its commencement, and if such inquiry is not so completed, the proceedings under this Chapter shall, on the expiry of the said period, stand terminated unless, for special reasons to be recorded in writing, the Magistrate otherwise directs: Provided that where any person has been kept in detention pending such inquiry, the proceeding against that person, unless terminated earlier, shall stand terminated on the expiry of a period of six months of such detention.§

(7) Where any direction is made under sub-section (6) permitting the continuance of proceedings, the Sessions Judge may, on an application made to him by the aggrieved party, vacate such direction if he is satisfied that it was not based on any special reason or was perverse.§

Why this exists

This provision continues a long-standing colonial-era mechanism (originally Section 117 of the CrPC, 1898/1973) for 'security proceedings' — where a person is asked to give a bond to keep the peace or show good behaviour based on police or magisterial apprehension of future trouble. Because such orders can restrict liberty on the basis of suspicion rather than a completed crime, the law builds in safeguards: a proper inquiry (not just an order), evidentiary standards, limits on how harsh the bond can be, and strict time limits so people are not left in indefinite legal limbo or detention.

How courts read it

Courts under the earlier, near-identical CrPC provision (Section 117) have repeatedly stressed that these are preventive, not punitive, proceedings, and must be read narrowly to protect personal liberty. Judgments have held that vague or general allegations cannot justify a good-behaviour bond, that the Magistrate must genuinely apply their mind to evidence rather than mechanically extend the inquiry, and that detention pending inquiry must strictly respect statutory time limits. These principles are expected to carry over in interpreting section 135 of the BNSS.

Common misconceptions

Myth: An order under section 130 is a final punishment.
Fact: It's only a preliminary step; the Magistrate must still hold a full inquiry to verify the truth of the allegations before any binding order is confirmed.
Myth: The Magistrate can keep the inquiry open indefinitely if they think it's necessary.
Fact: The law caps the inquiry at six months, extendable only with specific, written 'special reasons', and detention during inquiry is capped separately at six months regardless of extensions.
Myth: Anyone can be asked to sign a good-behaviour bond during the inquiry.
Fact: Only persons already facing proceedings under sections 127, 128, or 129 can be asked to execute such a bond, and its terms cannot be harsher than the original order under section 130.