The Tamil Nadu government has issued a notification on December 3, 2025, extending Section 218(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, to all police personnel in the state. This means that legal permission from the government is needed to prosecute any police officer for offenses committed while performing their official duties. Earlier, similar protection was only confirmed for officers up to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police under the old Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Orders extending protection to all ranks existed but could not be found now, police sources explained. Section 218(2) of BNSS states: “No court shall take cognisance of any offence alleged to have been committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the Union while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.” Tamil Nadu's latest order replaces “Central Government” with “State Government” and applies it broadly to all police classes and categories. A senior police officer clarified that the requirement for government sanction before prosecuting police involved in public order duties existed previously and continues under this new notification. The order does not change rules related to private cases or cases filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, amended in 2018. This move reinforces legal safeguards for police officers while on duty and standardizes protection across the state's police force.