Section 59 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 59 deals with court processes that cross a border: how a Special Court in India sends a summons, arrest warrant or search warrant to be served or executed in a contracting State, how it executes the same kind of process received from a contracting State, and what conditions apply to a prisoner who is moved between the two countries.
This article reads it as per the consolidated text of the Act consulted (amendments shown up to 1 August 2019). Later amendments and notifications should be checked. Where an accused person or a witness is abroad, FEMA advisory support alongside the legal team helps map what the file needs on both sides.
Where a Special Court trying an offence punishable under section 4 wants a summons or arrest warrant for an accused, a summons for any person, or a search warrant served or executed in a contracting State, it sends it in duplicate through the authorities the Central Government specifies by notification. Where such a process is received from a contracting State, the Special Court has it served or executed as if it came from another Indian court, an arrested person being dealt with under section 19 and a search under sections 17 and 18. Conditions apply to transferred prisoners.
Sub-section (1): Indian processes sent abroad
Section 59(1) applies where a Special Court, in relation to an offence punishable under section 4, desires that any of the following, issued by it, shall be served or executed at any place in any contracting State:
| Clause | Process |
|---|---|
| (a) | A summons to an accused person |
| (b) | A warrant for the arrest of an accused person |
| (c) | A summons to any person requiring him to attend and produce a document or other thing, or to produce it |
| (d) | A search warrant |
In that case the Special Court shall send the summons or warrant in duplicate, in such form, to such Court, Judge or Magistrate, through such authorities, as the Central Government may, by notification, specify. That Court, Judge or Magistrate shall cause it to be executed.
Points to notice:
- The sub-section is tied to section 4 offences; for the offence and its punishment see our article on section 4.
- It says "in duplicate". The form and the channel are left to a notification, which this text does not contain.
- The "contracting State" is the one defined in section 55(a); see our article on sections 55 to 58.
Sub-section (2): foreign processes received in India
Where a Special Court, in relation to an offence punishable under section 4, has received for service or execution any of the same four processes (a summons to an accused, an arrest warrant, a summons to any person to attend and produce a document or thing, or a search warrant) issued by a Court, Judge or Magistrate in a contracting State, it shall cause it to be served or executed as if it were a summons or warrant received by it from another Court in the said territories for service or execution within its local jurisdiction.
Two consequences are spelled out:
| Where | Consequence as printed |
|---|---|
| (i) A warrant of arrest has been executed | The person arrested shall be dealt with in accordance with the procedure specified under section 19 |
| (ii) A search warrant has been executed | The things found in the search shall, so far as possible, be dealt with in accordance with the procedure specified under sections 17 and 18 |
Section 19 is the power to arrest; see our article on section 19. Sections 17 and 18 deal with search and seizure and search of persons.
The proviso on documents and things
Where a summons or search warrant received from a contracting State has been executed, the documents or other things produced, or things found in the search, shall be forwarded to the Court issuing the summons or search warrant through such authority as the Central Government may, by notification, specify. Again, the channel is left to a notification. The text prints "a summon" in this proviso; the slip is quoted as printed.
Sub-section (3): a prisoner transferred out of India
Where a person transferred to a contracting State pursuant to sub-section (2) is a prisoner in India, the Special Court or the Central Government may impose such conditions as that Court or Government deems fit.
Sub-section (4): a prisoner transferred into India
Where the person transferred to India pursuant to sub-section (1) is a prisoner in a contracting State, the Special Court in India shall ensure that the conditions subject to which the prisoner is transferred to India are complied with, and such prisoner shall be kept in such custody subject to such conditions as the Central Government may direct in writing.
A point the text leaves unclear
The heading of section 59 speaks of "assistance for transfer of accused persons", and sub-sections (3) and (4) speak of a person "transferred ... pursuant to sub-section (2)" and "pursuant to sub-section (1)". Sub-sections (1) and (2), as printed, deal with summons and warrants, and none of the four clauses uses the word "transfer". The text does not spell out a separate procedure for transfer. This article reads sub-sections (3) and (4) as printed and does not supply the mechanism from outside the text.
Which direction is which
| Question | Sub-section (1) | Sub-section (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Whose process? | A Special Court in India | A court, Judge or Magistrate in a contracting State |
| Where is it served or executed? | In a contracting State | In India, within the Special Court's local jurisdiction |
| Channel | Authorities specified by Central Government notification | Same procedure as a process from another Indian court |
| After execution | Executed by the foreign Court, Judge or Magistrate | Arrest under section 19, search under sections 17 and 18; documents forwarded through a notified authority |
A worked example
A Special Court is trying an offence punishable under section 4 against Mr Vikrant Rao (invented), a director who lives in a contracting State (an invented "Country Y"). The Special Court wants a summons served on him. Under sub-section (1) it sends the summons in duplicate, in the form and through the authority the Central Government has specified, to a Court in Country Y, which causes it to be served. If the Special Court also wants a search warrant executed at his office there, the same route applies. Documents found would come back to the Special Court through a notified authority, under the proviso to sub-section (2) where the process is a foreign one executed in India, and by the arrangement with that country where it is an Indian process abroad. The text does not print a rule for the return route in sub-section (1) and this article does not supply one.
In the opposite direction, if a Court in Country Y sends a search warrant for premises in India, the Special Court causes it to be executed, and what is found is dealt with, so far as possible, under sections 17 and 18, and forwarded to the foreign Court through the notified authority.
What businesses should take from this
- A person abroad is not outside the reach of a Special Court's process; the Act provides a channel through a contracting State.
- A foreign process received in India is executed as if it came from an Indian court, so the safeguards of sections 17, 18 and 19 apply to what follows.
- The notifications for form and channel are not in the text; they should be obtained and read for the particular State.
Need help where a party or evidence is abroad?
When a summons, warrant or search touches another country, the channel and the notification for that country decide what is possible. We advise on the cross-border steps through FEMA advisory together with the legal team, working from the papers received.
Key takeaways
- Section 59 covers summons, arrest warrants and search warrants for section 4 offences, in both directions between a Special Court and a contracting State.
- Indian processes are sent in duplicate through authorities specified by Central Government notification.
- Foreign processes are executed as if received from another Indian court.
- An arrested person is dealt with under section 19; a search is dealt with, so far as possible, under sections 17 and 18.
- Documents or things obtained are forwarded to the issuing Court through a notified authority.
- Sub-sections (3) and (4) set conditions for prisoners transferred out of and into India; the text does not spell out the transfer procedure itself.
Read next
- Sections 55-58 PMLA: contracting State and letters of request
- Sections 58A-58B and 60-61 PMLA: property across borders
- Section 19 PMLA: power to arrest
- Enforcement Directorate powers under PMLA
Disclaimer: Based on the consolidated text of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 published by the Enforcement Directorate, showing amendments up to Act 23 of 2019 (1 August 2019), and on the Department of Revenue consolidated copy of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 listing amendments up to 19 July 2024, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendments, notifications, other rules and regulator directions should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.