BNSS · Section 31 · Chapter IV — POWERS OF SUPERIOR OFFICERS OF POLICE AND AID TO THE MAGISTRATES AND THE POLICE

Public when to assist Magistrates and police.

What this section does

Every person is legally bound to assist a Magistrate or police officer who reasonably demands their aid in arresting or preventing the escape of a person the officer is authorised to arrest, in preventing or suppressing a breach of the peace, or in preventing injury to public property.

AI-generated plain-language summary. For the binding statutory text, see India Code (official).

Procedure at a glance

Key actors: Magistrate · Police officer · General public
Time limit: None specified

Old-law correspondence

Derived from CrPC s.37.

Read the official text

For the binding statutory text of BNSS Section 31, refer to the Gazette of India or the India Code official website.

Why this matters

BNSS Section 31 forms part of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 on 1 July 2024. Any new filing, FIR, charge sheet, or bail application made on or after that date should cite the new section number. References to the old act in legacy documents remain valid for matters that arose before the changeover.