Section 82 Cr.P.C. proclamation requires recorded satisfaction of absconding and specified time and place for appearance.

The petitioner, a 23-year-old resident of Chatra, Jharkhand, was named as an accused in Barhi Mahila P.S. Case No. 13 of 2025 for offences punishable under Section 64(2)(m) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023

The petitioner approached the High Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, seeking to quash the orders dated 12.12.2025 and 06.01.2026

During the proceedings, the petitioner withdrew the challenge against the order dated 12.12.2025 and confined the prayer to quashing the order dated 06.01.2026

The impugned order, passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Hazaribagh, issued a proclamation against the petitioner under Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), which corresponds to Section 84 of the BNSS, 2023

Whether the order dated 06.01.2026, issuing a proclamation under Section 82 Cr.P.C. (corresponding to Section 84 BNSS), was legally sustainable when it failed to record the Magistrate's satisfaction regarding the petitioner's abscondence or fix a specific time and place for appearance.

The court applied Section 82 of the Cr.P.C. (now Section 84 of the BNSS, 2023), which governs the issuance of proclamations for persons absconding.

The court emphasized the settled principle of law that for such a proclamation to be valid, the issuing court must: (a) record its satisfaction that the accused is absconding or concealing himself to evade arrest, and (b) specifically mention the time and place for the appearance of the accused within the order itself

These requirements are mandatory for the exercise of jurisdiction under this section

The High Court examined the records and the specific contents of the JMFC’s order dated 06.01.2026. It noted that the JMFC had failed to comply with the statutory prerequisites for issuing a proclamation. Specifically, the Magistrate did not record a formal finding or "satisfaction" that the petitioner was intentionally absconding or concealing himself to evade the legal process

Furthermore, the order was found deficient because it failed to designate a specific time and place for the petitioner to appear, which is a sine qua non for the validity of a proclamation under Section 82 Cr.P.C. / Section 84 BNSS

The Court reasoned that issuing such a drastic measure without adhering to mandatory procedural safeguards constitutes an illegality and an abuse of the process of law

Consequently, the High Court quashed and set aside the order dated 06.01.2026 passed by the JMFC, Hazaribagh, specifically as it pertained to the petitioner

The Court granted the JMFC liberty to pass a fresh order in accordance with the law

The Criminal Miscellaneous Petition was allowed to that extent