This Note examines why preventive security proceedings under Chapter VIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)/Chapter IX of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have lost operational efficacy despite doctrinal endorsement and argues that institutional misalignment between police and executive magistracy is the principal cause. Security proceedings have been an integral component of the CrPC and now of BNSS since its inception. Over time, the challenges confronting local administration have evolved, resulting in significant discrepancies between the intended purpose of the law and its practical application. Despite widespread consensus on the continued necessity of such proceedings given the diverse law and order challenges facing the country, a thorough examination is required to ensure their continued relevance and effectiveness. This Note critically examines the issues surrounding security proceedings from a practical standpoint, drawing insights from real-world experiences to highlight challenges and propose potential solutions. It adopts a qualitative doctrinal-practice analysis informed by administrative experience, supplemented by case law, commission reports and National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
Dipankar Choudhary (Mon,) studied this question.