Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 303
Power of State Government or Central Government to exclude certain persons from
(1) The State Government or the Central Government, as the case may be, may, at any time, having regard to the matters specified in sub-section (2), by general or special order, direct that any person or class of persons shall not be removed from the prison in which he or they may be confined or detained, and thereupon, so long as the order remains in force, no order made under section 302, whether before or after the order of the State Government or the Central Government, shall have effect in respect of such person or class of persons.
(2) Before making an order under sub-section (1), the State Government or the Central Government in the cases instituted by its central agency, as the case may be, shall have regard to the following matters, namely:—
(a) the nature of the offence for which, or the grounds on which, the person or class of persons has been ordered to be confined or detained in prison;
(b) the likelihood of the disturbance of public order if the person or class of persons is allowed to be removed from the prison;
(c) the public interest, generally.
Why this exists
For certain high-risk or sensitive prisoners, physically moving them out of a secure prison, even for a legitimate court appearance, could create serious security or public-order risks (for example, risk of escape, violence, or unrest). This provision gives the government an override power to lock down movement for such prisoners, but requires it to weigh specific factors like public order and public interest before doing so, preventing arbitrary use of this power.