Consider the following statements regarding the medical examination of an arrested person under Section 53 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Statement 1: Medical examination can be conducted on any arrested person at the discretion of the police officer without any conditions. Statement 2: Medical examination under Section 53 can only be conducted on a person arrested for offences that leave body marks or involve loss of blood. Statement 3: The medical examination must be conducted by a qualified medical practitioner and with the consent of the arrested person. Statement 4: The examination must be completed within 24 hours of arrest. Which statements are correct?

Solution

Section 53 of BNSS, 2023 states: "when a person is arrested on a charge of committing an offence of a nature that leaves body marks or which involves loss of blood, the police officer...may...require such person to submit to examination by a medical practitioner". Statement 2 is correct—examination is limited to offences leaving marks or involving blood loss. Statement 3 is correct—examination must be by a medical practitioner and must respect dignity/consent. Statement 1 is incorrect because examination is limited to specific offence types, not discretionary. Statement 4 is incorrect because the section says "at any time before the expiry of twenty-four hours", not necessarily within 24 hours but within that window. Statements 2 and 3 are correct.