BNSS Section 202: Place of Trial for Offences Committed by Electronic Communications or Letters (CrPC 182 Mapping) (2026)
What Section 202 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) really does: it fixes where a court can try an offence committed through electronic communications, letters or messages, and how it maps to the old Section 182 of the CrPC. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS
Section 202 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), in force since 1 July 2024, decides where an offence committed through electronic communications, letters or messages may be tried. It replaced Section 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and expressly adds electronic communications. This is not, as some lists suggest, a section about the police report on completion of investigation. This explainer sets out what Section 202 really does, the special rule for bigamy, and how it maps to the old law. Last verified October 2026.
- New section: Section 202 of the BNSS fixes the place of trial for offences committed by electronic communications or letters, in force since 1 July 2024.
- Old section: it replaced Section 182 of the CrPC (not the police report provision).
- Cheating: try it where the message was sent or received, or where property was delivered or received.
- New: sub-section (2) fixes the place of trial for bigamy under Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
01Clearing up the section number
Some section lists wrongly tag BNSS Section 202 as the "police report on completion of investigation". That report, the old Section 173 CrPC, is in fact Section 193 of the BNSS, not Section 202. The error comes from carrying old numbers across, which the BNSS renumbering does not allow.
Section 202 of the BNSS actually deals with the place of trial. It sits in the chapter on the jurisdiction of criminal courts, and it fixes where an offence committed through electronic communications, letters or messages may be tried. It maps to the old Section 182 of the CrPC.
02What Section 202 covers
Section 202 answers a practical question: when an offence is committed at a distance, through a letter or a message, which court can try it? The general rule is that an offence is tried where it was committed. Section 202 is a special rule for offences that cross places.
Under sub-section (1), where cheating is practised by means of electronic communications, letters or telecommunication messages, the offence may be inquired into or tried by a court within whose jurisdiction:
- the electronic communications, letters or messages were sent or received; or
- for cheating that dishonestly induces the delivery of property, the property was delivered by the deceived person or received by the accused.
Why "electronic communications" was added
The old Section 182 CrPC spoke of letters and telecommunication messages. The BNSS adds electronic communications in plain words, which fits online cheating and fraud where the message and the loss happen in different places.
03The new rule for bigamy
Sub-section (2) of Section 202 is new and has no counterpart in the old Section 182 CrPC. It fixes the place of trial for the offence of bigamy, punishable under Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Such an offence may be tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction:
- the offence was committed;
- the offender last lived with the spouse of the first marriage; or
- the first wife has taken up permanent residence after the offence.
This gives a complainant more realistic places to file, which matters where the parties have moved after the second marriage.
04Old to new: CrPC 182 to BNSS 202
Section 182 of the CrPC is now Section 202 of the BNSS. The place of trial rule for distance offences is carried over and widened, and a bigamy sub-section is added.
| Point | Old law (CrPC) | New law (BNSS) |
|---|---|---|
| Offences by letters, messages (place of trial) | Section 182 | Section 202 |
| Electronic communications expressly included | Not expressly | Yes |
| Place of trial for bigamy | No separate clause | Section 202(2), new |
| Ordinary place of inquiry and trial | Section 177 | Section 197 |
Section 202 is an exception to the ordinary place of trial rule in Section 197 of the BNSS. For the wider body of law on jurisdiction, use case search across Indian courts.
05Is it an offence? Classification
Section 202 does not create an offence, so there is no cognizable, bailable or triable label to apply to the section itself, and it carries no punishment.
It is a jurisdiction rule. The cognizable, bailable and triable labels belong to the offence being tried, such as cheating or bigamy, which you find in the First Schedule to the BNSS.
06What changed from the old law
For the core rule, the substance follows Section 182 of the CrPC, so earlier case law on the place of trial for offences by letter or message still guides how Section 202 is read. The two real changes are the express mention of electronic communications and the new bigamy sub-section.
The practical lesson is to use the new chapter map. The police report on completion of investigation is a different provision, now Section 193 of the BNSS, not Section 202.
07Where 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.
Place of trial is a live battleground in online cheating and matrimonial matters, and jurisdiction objections are argued somewhere in India almost every day. Claw indexes 30 crore+ judgments and lets you track the cases, orders and hearings on such a point across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with every search answered in under 5 seconds. You can read how a court fixed jurisdiction for an online fraud or a bigamy complaint under Section 202 or the old Section 182, or follow a running matter by the name of a party or advocate.
Your searches are not used to train anything: Claw keeps customer case documents out of its AI model training. Create a free Claw account to study how courts have decided jurisdiction at this stage, or to keep track of a pending dispute. For the wider law on jurisdiction, see case search across Indian courts.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (official text of the BNSS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
- Section 202, BNSS (bare text): advocatekhoj.com
- Section 182, CrPC (old provision): 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.
09Frequently asked questions
What does Section 202 of the BNSS cover?
Section 202 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 fixes where an offence committed through electronic communications, letters or messages may be tried, and adds a sub-section on the place of trial for bigamy. It replaced Section 182 of the CrPC.
Is Section 202 BNSS the police report provision?
No. The police report on completion of investigation, the old Section 173 CrPC, is now Section 193 of the BNSS. Section 202 is a place of trial rule in the chapter on the jurisdiction of criminal courts.
Where can online cheating be tried under Section 202?
Where cheating is practised through electronic communications, letters or messages, it may be tried where the message was sent or received, and for cheating that induces delivery of property, where the property was delivered by the victim or received by the accused.
What is new for bigamy in Section 202?
Sub-section (2) lets bigamy under Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita be tried where the offence was committed, where the offender last lived with the first spouse, or where the first wife has permanently settled after the offence. This clause has no counterpart in the old Section 182 CrPC.
Is Section 202 BNSS an offence section?
No. Section 202 is a jurisdiction rule and creates no offence. It carries no punishment, so cognizable or bailable labels attach to the offence being tried, such as cheating or bigamy, not to the section itself.
Can I track a jurisdiction dispute in a case in Claw?
Yes. Claw lets you look up how courts have fixed the place of trial and follow a live dispute by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with results in under 5 seconds. It researches and tracks the matter, but it does not give legal advice.