Section 184 BNSS: Medical examination of victim of rape

Section 184 BNSS Bare Act Text

(1) Where, during the stage when an offence of committing rape or attempt to commit rape is under investigation, it is proposed to get the person of the woman with whom rape is alleged or attempted to have been committed or attempted, examined by a medical expert, such examination shall be conducted by a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or a local authority and in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other registered medical practitioner, with the consent of such woman or of a person competent to give such consent on her behalf and such woman shall be sent to such registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours from the time of receiving the information relating to the commission of such offence.

(2) The registered medical practitioner, to whom such woman is sent, shall, without delay, examine her person and prepare a report of his examination giving the following particulars, namely:—

(i) the name and address of the woman and of the person by whom she was brought;

(ii) the age of the woman;

(iii) the description of material taken from the person of the woman for DNA profiling;

(iv) marks of injury, if any, on the person of the woman;

(v) general mental condition of the woman; and

(vi) other material particulars in reasonable detail.

(3) The report shall state precisely the reasons for each conclusion arrived at.

(4) The report shall specifically record that the consent of the woman or of the person competent to give such consent on her behalf to such examination had been obtained.

(5) The exact time of commencement and completion of the examination shall also be noted in the report.

(6) The registered medical practitioner shall, within a period of seven days forward the report to the investigating officer who shall forward it to the Magistrate referred to in section 193 as part of the documents referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (6) of that section.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as rendering lawful any examination without the consent of the woman or of any person competent to give such consent on her behalf.

Explanation.

For the purposes of this section, "examination" and "registered medical practitioner" shall have the same meanings as respectively assigned to them in section 51.

Source: Section 184, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 184 BNSS in Simple Words

When Section 184 BNSS Applies

• Section 184(1) BNSS applies where, during the stage when an offence of committing rape or attempt to commit rape is under investigation, it is proposed to get the person of the woman with whom rape is alleged or attempted to have been committed or attempted, examined by a medical expert; the examination shall be conducted by a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or a local authority and, in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other registered medical practitioner, with the consent of the woman or of a person competent to give such consent on her behalf.
• Section 184(2) BNSS applies to the registered medical practitioner to whom the woman is sent; the registered medical practitioner shall examine her person and prepare a report of the examination giving the particulars listed in Section 184(2)(i) BNSS to Section 184(2)(vi) BNSS.
• Section 184(3) BNSS, Section 184(4) BNSS and Section 184(5) BNSS speak of the report. The report shall state precisely the reasons for each conclusion arrived at, shall specifically record that the consent of the woman or of the person competent to give such consent on her behalf to the examination had been obtained, and shall note the exact time of commencement and completion of the examination.
• Section 184(6) BNSS applies to the registered medical practitioner after the report is prepared; the registered medical practitioner shall, within a period of seven days forward the report to the investigating officer, who shall forward it to the Magistrate referred to in Section 193 BNSS as part of the documents referred to in Section 193(6)(a) BNSS.
• Section 184(7) BNSS says that nothing in Section 184 BNSS shall be construed as rendering lawful any examination without the consent of the woman or of any person competent to give such consent on her behalf.

Time Limits Under Section 184 BNSS

• Section 184(1) BNSS says the woman shall be sent to the registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours from the time of receiving the information relating to the commission of such offence.Act text: “within twenty-four hours from the time of receiving the information relating to the commission of such offence”
• Section 184(2) BNSS says the registered medical practitioner shall, without delay, examine the person of the woman and prepare a report of the examination.Act text: “shall, without delay, examine her person”
• Section 184(6) BNSS says the registered medical practitioner shall, within a period of seven days forward the report to the investigating officer.Act text: “shall, within a period of seven days forward the report to the investigating officer”

Example of Section 184 BNSS

When Section 184 BNSS Does Not Apply

• Section 184 BNSS speaks of the medical examination of the woman with whom rape is alleged or attempted. It does not deal with the examination of an accused by a medical practitioner, which Section 51 BNSS covers under the heading Examination of accused by medical practitioner at request of police officer.
• Section 184 BNSS speaks of the report of the registered medical practitioner. It does not deal with the report of the police officer to the Magistrate, which Section 193 BNSS covers under the heading Report of police officer on completion of investigation.

Section 184 BNSS in the CrPC (Previous Law)

FAQs on Section 184 BNSS

Section 184 BNSS: Sub-sections Explained

Sections Related to Section 184 BNSS