Magisterial Inquest
Definition
Inquest conducted by an Executive Magistrate under BNSS Section 198 in custodial death, jail death, dowry death within seven years of marriage, and rape victim death cases. Mandatory and non-delegable.
- Legal basis
- BNSS Section 198
- Conducting officer
- Executive Magistrate
- Mandatory in
- Custodial deaths, jail deaths, dowry deaths (within 7 years of marriage), rape victim deaths
Common questions
When is a magisterial inquest mandatory?+
A magisterial inquest is mandatory in custodial deaths, jail deaths, dowry deaths within seven years of marriage, and deaths of rape victims. These cases bypass the usual police-led inquest and require a magistrate to conduct the inquiry instead.
Who conducts a magisterial inquest?+
An Executive Magistrate conducts the inquest into the cause and circumstances of death. This inquiry is non-delegable, meaning the magistrate must personally oversee it and cannot assign the work to someone else.
How is a magisterial inquest different from a police inquest?+
A magisterial inquest is conducted by a magistrate rather than a police officer and is required in sensitive death cases like custodial or dowry deaths. The magistrate has direct authority to investigate the cause and circumstances independently.
Related terms
- Cause of Death
- The disease or injury directly responsible for death. Recorded by the pathologist on the death certificate, it is distinct from manner of...
- Custodial Death
- Death of a person in police custody, judicial custody, prison, military custody, or psychiatric institution, including transit between facilities.
- Forensic Medicine
- The medical specialty that applies clinical and pathological knowledge to legal questions, especially cause and manner of death, antemortem injuries, identification, and...
- Inquest
- Legal enquiry into the cause and circumstances of a sudden, suspicious or unnatural death. In India conducted by the police under BNSS...
- Manner of Death
- The circumstantial classification of a death using the NAME five-category scheme (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, undetermined), or the jurisdiction-specific equivalent, recorded separately...
- Medico-Legal Expert
- A registered medical practitioner trained in forensic medicine who conducts post-mortems, writes the medico-legal certificate, and gives expert evidence in court. The...
- Mode of Death
- The physiological mechanism by which death occurred: coma (cerebral failure), asphyxia (respiratory failure), or syncope (cardiac and circulatory failure).
- NHRC Custodial Death Protocol
- The set of guidelines (1993, 1995, 2003) requiring reporting within 24 hours, video-recorded autopsy, two-doctor panel, and forwarding of viscera and reports...
- Police Inquest
- Inquest conducted by an SHO or IO under BNSS Section 196 for cases of suicide, accident, animal/machine death or any unnatural death,...
- Sudden Death
- Death occurring within twenty-four hours of the onset of symptoms in a person not previously known to be in a life-threatening state....
Explained in these topics
- Forensic Medicine and Medico-Legal Investigation: Inquest TypesInquest conducted by an Executive Magistrate under BNSS Section 198 in custodial death, jail death, dowry death within seven years of marriage, and rape victim...
- Mode and Manner of Death: NASH Classification, NHRC ProtocolAn inquiry into the cause and circumstances of a death conducted by a magistrate rather than a police officer. Mandatory in custodial death cases under BNSS Se...