The Judgment

In one line

The judgment is where a trial becomes a decision, and these sections say when it is delivered, what it must contain, and who is entitled to a copy of it.

In exam wording: sections 392 to 394 and 402 to 406 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 govern the pronouncement, language and contents of a judgment, the recording of special reasons, the bar on alteration, and the supply of copies.

Why the law has this at all

Everything before this point is preparation. The judgment is the act.

And because it is the act, it must be public, it must be reasoned, and it must be final. Public, so that justice is seen and not merely done: section 392 requires pronouncement in open Court. Reasoned, so that the accused knows why and the appellate court knows what to examine: section 393 requires the points for determination, the decision and the reasons. Final, so that a decided case stays decided: section 403 forbids alteration except of a clerical or arithmetical slip.

The Sanhita adds a fourth idea the old Code did not press: promptness. A judgment reserved indefinitely is a judgment denied, and section 392(1) now caps the reserve at forty-five days, with the judgment to be uploaded on the Court's portal within seven days.

Some words this chapter uses

The operative part is the part that convicts or acquits and passes sentence.

To pronounce is to deliver, read out, or read the operative part and explain the substance.

Alteration and review in section 403 mean changing the decision; correcting a clerical or arithmetical error is not that.

Section 392: pronouncement

Sub-section (1), when and how. The judgment in every trial in any Criminal Court of original jurisdiction shall be pronounced in open Court by the presiding officer, immediately after the termination of the trial, or at some subsequent time not later than forty-five days, of which notice shall be given to the parties or their advocates:

(a) by delivering the whole of the judgment; or (b) by reading out the whole of the judgment; or (c) by reading out the operative part and explaining the substance in a language which is understood by the accused or his advocate.

Sub-section (2), where it is delivered under (a). The presiding officer shall cause it to be taken down in short-hand, sign the transcript and every page as soon as it is ready, and write on it the date of delivery in open Court.

Sub-section (3), where it is read out under (b) or (c). It shall be dated and signed by the presiding officer in open Court, and if not written in his own hand, every page shall be signed by him.