BNSS Section 94: Summons or written order to produce a document or electronic record (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A court can order a person to produce a document, and a police officer can do the same by written order, under Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the new criminal procedure code in force since 1 July 2024. Section 94 replaced Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and now expressly covers electronic records and devices likely to hold digital evidence. If you still look up "section 91 CrPC", this is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 94 covers, how it maps to the old law, and its limits. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number matters now

For decades, a "Section 91 notice" meant an order to produce a document in a criminal case. Since 1 July 2024 the CrPC is replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), and that power now sits in Section 94.

This matters in daily practice. A production order issued on or after 1 July 2024 cites Section 94 of the BNSS, not Section 91 of the CrPC. An investigation that began earlier may still refer to the old number. So for a while both numbers appear in live matters, and you need to read each one correctly. The subject is the same: the power to compel production of a document or thing.

02What Section 94 covers

Section 94 of the BNSS lets a court or the police compel production of a document or thing that is needed or useful for a case. It works in two forms:

• By a court: the court issues a summons to the person who holds the document or thing.
• By the police: an officer in charge of a police station issues a written order, which may be in physical or electronic form.

The order can require the person to attend and produce the item, or simply to produce it. A person who is only asked to produce a document or thing meets the requirement by causing it to be produced, without attending in person.

The clear new point is scope. Section 94 expressly covers a document, an electronic communication including communication devices which is likely to contain digital evidence, or other thing. The old Section 91 did not spell out electronic material, though it was used for it in practice.

03The limits that apply

Section 94 is not a power to make someone create new material. Courts have read the old Section 91, and now Section 94, as a power to call for a document or thing that is already in existence and in the possession or control of the person named. A Kerala High Court decision in 2026 confirmed that Section 94 of the BNSS allows the summoning of documents or things only where they already exist, so an investigating officer cannot require a person to prepare fresh information.

Two further limits are built into the section:

• Protected records: the section does not disturb the rules on bankers books or on certain production privileges under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
• Postal items: it does not apply to letters, postcards, parcels or things in the custody of the postal authority, which are dealt with separately.

There is also a long line of authority that a production order should not be used against an accused in a way that offends the protection against self-incrimination. That protection is argued case by case.

04Old to new: CrPC 91 to BNSS 94

Section 91 of the CrPC is now Section 94 of the BNSS. The structure, a court summons or a police written order to produce a document or thing, is carried over. The BNSS adds express words for electronic communication and devices.

So the power itself is unchanged. The headline difference is that Section 94 names electronic records and devices on the face of the statute.

05What changed from the old law

For the common use of the section, calling for a record or thing in an investigation or trial, the position is the same, so older case law on Section 91 of the CrPC still guides how Section 94 is read.

The substantive change is the express reach into electronic evidence. By naming electronic communication and devices likely to contain digital evidence, Section 94 removes an old gap and ties into the new rules on electronic records under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. How courts apply this to intermediaries and cloud data is still developing. For the key definitions under the new evidence law, see Section 2 of the BSA.

06Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A fight over a production order usually comes down to how courts have drawn its limits: whether the document already exists, whether it reaches into electronic records, or whether self-incrimination is in play. Claw lets you read that line of authority across more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, so a High Court's treatment of Section 94 or the old Section 91 is a search away and comes back in under five seconds. For a live notice, follow it by party or advocate name and let Claw track the orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.

Nothing you upload feeds Claw's AI training; customer case documents are never used for that. Create a free Claw account to look up a production dispute by party or advocate name, or widen your research through case search across Indian courts.

07Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNSS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNSS overview and CrPC comparison): prsindia.org
• Section 94, BNSS (bare text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

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