Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 490
Deposit instead of recognizance
When any person is required by any Court or officer to execute a bond or bail bond, such Court or officer may, except in the case of a bond for good behaviour, permit him to deposit a sum of money or Government promissory notes to such amount as the Court or officer may fix in lieu of executing such bond.
Why this exists
Not everyone can find a reliable surety willing to vouch for them, so this section offers a practical alternative — putting up cash or government securities directly. Good-behaviour bonds are excluded because they are meant to ensure ongoing, supervised future conduct, which a one-time financial deposit cannot substitute for.