Section 91 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973
91. Summons to produce document or other thing.
(1) Whenever any Court or any officer in charge of a police station considers that the
production of any document or other thing is necessary or desirable for the purposes of any
investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Code by or before such Court or
officer, such Court may issue a summons, or such officer a written order, to the person in
whose possession or power such document or thing is believed to be, requiring him to attend
and produce it, or to produce it, at the time and place stated in the summons or order.
(2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document or other thing shall
be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he causes such document or thing to be
produced instead of attending personally to produce the same.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed-
(a) to affect sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), or the
Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 (13 of 1891) or
(b) to apply to a letter, postcard, telegram or other document or any parcel or thing in the
custody of the nostal or telegraph.authority
Key points about Section 91 CrPC in DV cases:
Relevance is key:
The court will assess whether the documents sought are directly relevant to the allegations of
domestic violence in the case.
Discretionary power:
The court has the discretion to accept or reject a Section 91 application based on the specific
circumstances of the case.
Timing matters:
Applications under Section 91 should be made at the appropriate stage of the proceedings,
not too early or too late.
Examples of situations where a court might accept a Section 91 application in a DV case:
1. Requesting bank statements to prove financial abuse
2. Seeking medical records to corroborate physical violence claims
3. Asking for property documents to establish ownership in a dispute over shared
accommodation
