Police Want to Attach Your Property as Proceeds of Crime? Section 107 BNSS Explained

Under Indian law, Section 106 BNSS carries over Section 102 CrPC's police power to seize suspected stolen or offence-connected property. Section 107 BNSS is new: a general power letting a police officer, with senior-officer approval, apply to a Magistrate to attach, and ultimately distribute or forfeit, property believed to be proceeds of any crime under investigation — a procedure no CrPC section contained. The CrPC's own attachment-and-forfeiture machinery, Chapter VIIA (Sections 105A-105L), worked differently and continues as Chapter VIII BNSS.

The situation

Police investigating an offence believe that certain property — cash, a bank balance, a vehicle, immovable property — was obtained as a result of the crime being investigated, and want to prevent the accused from disposing of or moving it before trial. The person holding the property wants to know what power the police are relying on, what procedure must be followed before attachment, and what happens to the property afterward.

Old law vs new law at a glance

What the law requires now, step by step

Step 1 — Seizure under Section 106 BNSS, the direct successor to Section 102 CrPC

Section 106(1) BNSS states: "Any police officer may seize any property which may be alleged or suspected to have been stolen, or which may be found under circumstances which create suspicion of the commission of any offence." This is the same power as Section 102(1) CrPC. Sub-sections (2) and (3) carry over the reporting duty to the officer in charge of the police station and to the Magistrate, and the procedure for handing custody to a person executing a bond where the property cannot conveniently be transported to the Court (or accommodation is difficult, or continued police retention is unnecessary) — matching Section 102(2)-(3) CrPC, with the proviso on auction of property subject to speedy and natural decay, worth less than five hundred rupees, whose owner is unknown or absent, now cross-referencing Sections 503 and 504 BNSS in place of Sections 457 and 458 CrPC.

Step 2 — The investigating officer applies for attachment under Section 107(1)

Section 107(1) BNSS creates the new power:

"Where a police officer making an investigation has reason to believe that any property is derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of a criminal activity or from the commission of any offence, he may, with the approval of the Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police, make an application to the Court or the Magistrate exercising jurisdiction to take cognizance of the offence or commit for trial or try the case, for the attachment of such property."

Unlike Section 106 BNSS (and Section 102 CrPC), which authorises the police officer to seize property directly, Section 107 BNSS requires an application to, and an order of, the Court or Magistrate, and Superintendent or Commissioner of Police approval before that application is made.

Step 3 — A fourteen-day show-cause notice

Section 107(2) BNSS: if the Court or Magistrate "has reasons to believe, whether before or after taking evidence, that all or any of such properties are proceeds of crime," it "may issue a notice upon such person calling upon him to show cause within a period of fourteen days as to why an order of attachment shall not be made." Section 107(3) extends this notice to any other person shown as holding the property on the first person's behalf.

Step 4 — The attachment order, or an ex parte order in urgent cases

Section 107(4) BNSS allows the Court or Magistrate, after considering any explanation and giving a reasonable hearing, to pass an order of attachment over property found to be proceeds of crime — with a proviso allowing an ex parte order if the person does not appear or respond within the fourteen-day period. Section 107(5) goes further, permitting an interim ex parte order of attachment or seizure without waiting for the show-cause notice process at all, "if the Court or the Magistrate is of the opinion that issuance of notice under the said sub-section would defeat the object of attachment or seizure" — remaining in force until a final order under sub-section (6).

Step 5 — Distribution or forfeiture

Once the Court or Magistrate finds the attached or seized property to be proceeds of crime, Section 107(6) BNSS directs it to order the District Magistrate to "rateably distribute such proceeds of crime to the persons who are affected by such crime." Section 107(7) requires the District Magistrate to complete distribution within sixty days. Section 107(8) provides that property with no claimant, no ascertainable claimant, or any surplus after satisfying claimants "shall stand forfeited to the Government."

Step 6 — Cross-border property: Chapter VIII BNSS

Where the property or the proceeds are outside India, the relevant machinery sits in Chapter VIII BNSS (Sections 111-124), read together with Section 86 BNSS's route for a proclaimed person's property (covered in a separate guide on absconding accused). Section 111 BNSS opens the chapter with definitions equivalent to Section 105A CrPC. Section 114 BNSS (assistance in securing transfer of persons) and Section 115 BNSS (assistance in relation to orders of attachment or forfeiture of property) correspond to Sections 105B and 105C CrPC respectively, and Sections 116-124 BNSS reproduce what were Sections 105D-105L CrPC (identifying unlawfully acquired property, seizure or attachment, management of seized or forfeited property, notice of forfeiture, forfeiture, fine in lieu of forfeiture, transfers null and void, procedure for letters of request, and application of the chapter). Chapter VIII BNSS additionally folds in what were the CrPC's separate Sections 166A and 166B — letters of request for investigation in, or from, a country outside India — as Sections 112 and 113 BNSS.

What changed — and what did not

• Identical in substance: Section 106 BNSS reproduces Section 102 CrPC's seizure power without material change, beyond updated cross-references for disposal of perishable property.
• New provision: Section 107 BNSS is a freestanding, general attachment-and-forfeiture power for proceeds of crime, applicable to any offence under investigation, with no equivalent provision in the CrPC. The CrPC's own attachment-and-forfeiture machinery in Chapter VIIA (Sections 105A-105L), headed "Reciprocal arrangements for assistance in certain matters and procedure for attachment and forfeiture of property", ran on a different procedure: Section 105C(1) let a Court with reasonable grounds to believe property was derived from an offence order attachment or forfeiture under Sections 105D-105J, with a thirty-day show-cause notice (Section 105G) and forfeiture to the Central Government (Section 105H(3)) — and no police application route, fourteen-day notice or distribution to affected persons.
• Consolidated, not rewritten: The reciprocal cross-border framework itself survives largely intact as Chapter VIII BNSS, but is restructured to bring the CrPC's separate letter-of-request-for-investigation provisions (Sections 166A-166B) into the same chapter as the attachment-and-forfeiture provisions (formerly Chapter VIIA), rather than keeping them in different parts of the Code.

Which law applies to your case

This guide does not restate the general transition rule. See Which Law Applies to an Offence Before 1 July 2024, read together with Section 531 BNSS, for the full position on proceedings that straddle the commencement date.

Practical checklist

For a person whose property has been attached or seized:

• Check which power the police are relying on — Section 106 BNSS seizure of specific suspected property is different from a Section 107 BNSS application to attach proceeds of crime, and the procedural protections differ.
• If a show-cause notice under Section 107(2) BNSS has been issued, note the fourteen-day window to respond before an ex parte order can follow.
• If property was attached ex parte under Section 107(5) BNSS without prior notice, that route is available only where the Court or Magistrate is of the opinion that issuing notice would defeat the object of attachment or seizure.
• Track the sixty-day distribution period under Section 107(7) BNSS once a final order confirming proceeds of crime has been made.

For the advocate:

• Verify that the investigating officer obtained the Superintendent or Commissioner of Police's approval before applying under Section 107(1) BNSS — this is a precondition on the face of the section.
• Where an ex parte interim order under Section 107(5) BNSS has been passed, scrutinise the basis on which the Court or Magistrate formed the opinion that notice would defeat the object of attachment or seizure — the condition the sub-section itself sets.
• For property or evidence located abroad, confirm whether the request is being routed through Chapter VIII BNSS and identify which of Sections 111-124 governs the specific type of assistance sought.
• Distinguish a Section 106 BNSS seizure (direct police power over specific property) from a Section 107 BNSS attachment (court/Magistrate order following an application) when advising on the correct remedy to challenge.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a Section 107 equivalent in the CrPC?

No direct equivalent. Section 102 CrPC allowed a police officer to seize property suspected to be stolen or otherwise connected with an offence, which survives as Section 106 BNSS. But a general power for a police officer to apply, with senior-officer approval, for a Magistrate's order attaching property believed to be "proceeds of crime" derived from any offence, followed by a fourteen-day show-cause procedure and distribution to affected persons or forfeiture, did not exist in the CrPC — that is what Section 107 BNSS newly creates. The CrPC's Chapter VIIA (Sections 105C-105J) did provide a different, Court-driven attachment-and-forfeiture procedure (police tracing directed by the Court, a thirty-day show-cause notice, forfeiture to the Central Government); that procedure continues as Sections 115-122 BNSS.

What is the process under Section 107 BNSS for attaching proceeds of crime?

Under Section 107(1)-(2) BNSS, an investigating police officer who believes property is derived from criminal activity applies, with the approval of the Superintendent or Commissioner of Police, to the Court or Magistrate with jurisdiction over the case. If the Court or Magistrate has reason to believe the property is proceeds of crime, it may issue a show-cause notice giving the person fourteen days to explain why attachment should not follow, under Section 107(2).

Can property be attached without notice first under Section 107 BNSS?

Yes, in a specific circumstance. Section 107(5) BNSS allows the Court or Magistrate to pass an ex parte interim order of attachment or seizure, without the fourteen-day show-cause notice, if issuing that notice would defeat the object of attachment or seizure. The interim order remains in force until a final order is passed under Section 107(6).

What happens to property once it is confirmed as proceeds of crime under Section 107 BNSS?

Section 107(6)-(7) BNSS directs the Court or Magistrate to order the District Magistrate to rateably distribute the proceeds of crime to persons affected by the crime, with distribution to be completed within sixty days of the District Magistrate's receipt of the order. Section 107(8) BNSS states that if there are no claimants, no ascertainable claimant, or a surplus after satisfying claimants, the proceeds stand forfeited to the Government.

Is attaching property abroad still possible under the new law?

Yes. Section 106 BNSS (seizure) corresponds to Section 102 CrPC, and the reciprocal cross-border framework survives as Chapter VIII of the BNSS (Sections 111-124), consolidating what was Chapter VIIA of the CrPC (Sections 105A-105L, covering assistance for attachment and forfeiture of property in a contracting State) together with the CrPC's separate Sections 166A-166B on letters of request for investigation abroad.

Which law applies if the seizure or attachment happened before 1 July 2024?

This guide does not restate the general transition rule. See the dedicated article on which law applies to a matter that straddles the 1 July 2024 commencement date, read together with Section 531 BNSS.

Related on Veritect

• Which Law Applies to an Offence Before 1 July 2024
• Accused Absconds: Proclamation, Attachment and Trial in Absence — CrPC 82-86, 299 vs BNSS 84-89, 356
• Getting a Seized Vehicle or Property Back: CrPC 451-459 vs BNSS 497-505
• In Jail Awaiting Trial? Maximum Detention — Section 436A CrPC vs Section 479 BNSS
• CrPC to BNSS: Complete Section Mapping
• Section 82 CrPC vs Section 84 BNSS — Proclamation and Attachment (CrPC 82-86)
• Section 102 CrPC vs Section 106 BNSS — Power of Police Officer to Seize Certain Property
• Sections 453–459 CrPC vs Sections 499–505 BNSS — Innocent Purchaser, Appeals, Destruction, Restoration of Possession and Unclaimed Seized Property

Statutory sources

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 106, Section 107, Chapter VIII (Sections 111-124) (read from BNSS_2023.md; verified against the Gazette text)
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — Section 102, Chapter VIIA (Sections 105A-105L), Sections 166A-166B (read from CrPC_1973.md)

This guide explains the statutory text of the BNS, BNSS and BSA as enacted. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.