Under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023 (replacing CrPC), an arrested person has the right to have his medical examination conducted under Section 51. If injuries are found during this examination, they must be documented in the:
- A Form 39 (Police custody register) maintained by the station house officer
- B Medico-legal register (MLR) maintained by the attending doctor with a copy forwarded to the magistrate ✓
- C Patient's clinical notes only, with no mandatory reporting requirement
- D Annual crime statistics report submitted to the NCRB
Explanation
When a medical officer examines an arrested person under the corresponding section and finds injuries, the examination findings must be recorded in the medico-legal register (injury certificate/wound certificate) with a copy mandatorily forwarded to the nearest judicial magistrate. This safeguards against torture and custodial violence and creates an independent record at the time of arrest. The MLR must be contemporaneous, countersigned, and include time and date. Police registers and patient notes alone do not satisfy the legal safeguard requirement.
Reference: The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Narayan Reddy), 34th ed.
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