BNS Section 16: Act Done Pursuant to Judgment or Order of Court

Definition of BNS Section 16

Nothing which is done in pursuance of, or which is warranted by the judgement or order of, a Court; if done while such judgement or order remains in force, is an offence, notwithstanding the Court may have had no jurisdiction to pass such judgement or order, provided the person doing the act in good faith believes that the Court had such jurisdiction

Explanation and Illustration of Section 16 to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

The legal protection for acts done by a person under the compulsion of the judgement or order of any court has been given in section 16 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. This is to strengthen that acts done on the judgement or order issued by any court must be followed; however, these acts are not offences if the judgement or order is issued by the court without any jurisdiction.

Explanation
This section clearly states that nothing that is done in pursuance of an order or warrant issued by a court is to be deemed to be an offence, if such order or warrant is still in force. This exemption would apply irrespective of whether or not the court had any real jurisdiction.

Good Faith Belief: An important feature of this measure is that the person obliged to act by the judicial provision is required to do so in good faith, meaning they actually believe that he or she is entitled to enforce the judicial provision.

Fosters Compliance: Section 16 protects those who act under court orders thereby encouraging obedience to judicial decrees and integrity of the rule of law. It bars people from being subjected to legal sanctions for obeying what they believe is a valid judicial command.

Example:
A court issues an order of property seizure, and based on his belief that it was within the jurisdictional capacity of the court that issued it, an official implements it. Later, one discovers that the court did not have such jurisdiction to issue an order. However, still, no offence can be attached to an official because he did his work in good faith on the belief that what he was doing was actually implementing a valid court order.

This section restates the maxim that the rule of law requires strict obedience to judicial authority but recognises that jurisdictional matters are complicated. It therefore serves as a safety net for persons acting in good faith upon what they believe is a lawful order, and which, consequently, enhances confidence in the judicial process.

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