INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vijayendra Pratap Singh, Asif Ahmed, Bhanu Jindal and Khushi Mittal, AZB & Partners
1.4 Extraterritorial Reach and Cross-Border Co-Operation Sections 3 and 4 of the BNS along with Section 208 of the BNSS recognise extraterritorial application of the Indian criminal law. An Indian citizen can be punished for offences committed outside India. A person out - side India can also be punished for an offence in India under the BNS. Section 48 of the BNS further extends this reach by making it an offence to abet the com - mission of a crime in India from outside the country. Further, any person who commits an offence aboard an Indian-registered ship/aircraft, or who targets a computer source in India, can be prosecuted in India. The extraterritorial reach of investigation agencies is also reflected in various specialised legislation tar - geting economic offences, such as the PMLA, which relies on bilateral assistance with notified countries to assist in investigations. Retaining the old regime, the BNSS statutorily rec - ognises reciprocal arrangements with other countries concerning the service of summonses/warrants, the conduct of investigations, the collection of evidence, and the attachment and forfeiture of property. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT) and Cross-Border Co-Operation India has bilateral arrangements for mutual legal assis - tance in criminal matters. The BNSS provides a pro - cedure for the issuance of summonses by a court (or police officer through the court), requiring the appear - ance of a person or the production of documents or materials relevant to an investigation, enquiry, or trial. Summonses may be issued to any person believed to possess such information. India has MLATs with 14 countries, enabling service of summonses to persons in their territory, subject to the precondition of double criminality for invoking the MLAT route. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the nodal ministry and central authority for all such assistance. For countries not covered under an MLAT, the MHA makes requests based on reciprocity through the con -
their innocence. The constitutionality of reverse bur - den of proof has been upheld under the PMLA as well as statutes dealing with terrorism, organised crimes, drug offences, and sexual violence against children. Even in such cases, the prosecution must prove that foundational facts are established before the reverse onus is triggered. 1.3 Statute of Limitations The BNSS prescribes limitation periods for prosecu - tion of certain offences, based on maximum punish - ment. • For offences punishable only with a fine, the limita - tion period is six months from commission. • For offences punishable with imprisonment for a term of up to one year, the limitation period is one year. • For offences punishable with imprisonment for a term of more than one year and up to three years, the limitation period is three years. • For offences punishable with imprisonment for a term of more than three years, no limitation period applies. In cases where there is a conflict between the limita - tion period prescribed under the BNSS and that under a special statute, the latter will prevail. Where an offence remains undetected, the date of its commission will be construed as the date on which the offence becomes known. Further, if the perpetra - tor of an offence remains unknown even after detec - tion of an offence, the date on which the perpetrator’s identity is revealed will be the relevant date for deter- mining the limitation period. The expiry date of limitation is the date on which the investigation report or the complaint is filed before court. For continuing offences, a fresh limitation peri - od begins to run at every moment during which the offence continues. The limitation period for offences that may be tried together is determined with refer - ence to the offence that carries the higher punish - ment.
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