BLS LLB 5 Years Sem 9 Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita BNSS 2025-26 - ATKT 60/40 Question Paper with Solutions

Section 43(1), BNSS, 2023 (formerly s.46, CrPC): in making an arrest the police officer or other person making it shall actually touch or confine the body of the person to be arrested, unless there is a submission to custody by word or action. If the person forcibly resists or attempts to evade arrest, the officer may use all means necessary to effect it (s.43(2)), but not means causing death unless the person is accused of an offence punishable with death or life imprisonment (s.43(4)).

Plea bargaining is a procedure by which an accused, instead of contesting the charge, applies to the Court for a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case, and on such a disposition being reached receives a reduced sentence. It is governed by Chapter XXIII, ss.289 to 300, BNSS, 2023 (formerly Chapter XXIA, ss.265A to 265L, CrPC).

By s.290(1), the application must be filed by the accused within thirty days from the date of framing of charge, supported by an affidavit that he has preferred it voluntarily and has not previously been convicted of the same offence.

Section 2(1)(f), BNSS, 2023: "charge" includes any head of charge when the charge contains more heads than one.

The Sanhita gives no fuller definition, so the working meaning is taken from the provisions themselves: a charge is the precise formulation, in writing, of the accusation against the accused, telling him exactly what offence he must meet. Its contents are prescribed by s.234, BNSS (formerly s.211, CrPC): the offence, the specific name of the offence if the law gives one, the section of the law against which it is said to have been committed, and a statement that every legal condition required by law to constitute the offence was fulfilled.

Count the chapters carefully: Chapter XVIII is The Charge, and the four trial chapters run XIX, XX, XXI and XXII.

Section 2(1)(k), BNSS, 2023 defines "inquiry" as every inquiry, other than a trial, conducted under this Sanhita by a Magistrate or Court. The Sanhita does not define "trial", so the distinction is drawn from the definition of inquiry and from practice.

Section 2(1)(t), BNSS, 2023: a "police report" means a report forwarded by a police officer to a Magistrate under sub-section (3) of section 193.

That is the report at the conclusion of the investigation, known in practice as the charge sheet, or, where no offence is made out, the final report or closure report.

• s.183(3): if the person says he is not willing to make the confession, the Magistrate shall not authorise his detention in police custody.
• s.183(4): the confession is recorded in the manner provided by s.316 and signed by the person making it, and the Magistrate appends a memorandum in the prescribed form certifying that the explanation was given and that he believes the confession was voluntary.

3. s.290(4)(a): satisfied, the Court gives them not more than sixty days to work out a mutually satisfactory disposition, which may include compensation and expenses to the victim. The sixty-day limit is also new.
4. s.291: the report of the disposition is signed by the presiding officer and all the parties.
5. s.292: on a disposition, the Court awards compensation to the victim, hears the parties on the quantum of sentence, and may release the accused on probation, or sentence him to half the minimum punishment where a minimum is provided, or to one-fourth of the punishment provided or extendable where none is.
6. s.293: the judgment is delivered in open Court and signed by the presiding officer.
7. s.297: the judgment is final, and no appeal lies against it, except a special leave petition under Art 136 or a writ under Arts 226 and 227.
8. s.299: statements or facts stated by the accused in his application shall not be used for any other purpose.

• e-FIR, by electronic communication, signed within three days.
• s.173(3): for a cognizable offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven, the officer may, with the prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police, conduct a preliminary enquiry within fourteen days, or proceed with investigation where a prima facie case exists.

Rights and remedies. By s.173(2) a copy must be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant or victim. On refusal to register, the informant may go to the Superintendent of Police under s.173(4), to the Magistrate under s.175(3) by an application supported by an affidavit, or file a private complaint under s.223.

7. who is missing or a run away, or whose parents cannot be found after reasonable inquiry;
8. who has been, is being, or is likely to be abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts;
9. who is found vulnerable and likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking;
10. who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains;
11. who is a victim of, or affected by, any armed conflict, civil unrest or natural calamity; or
12. who is at imminent risk of marriage before attaining the lawful age.

For full marks, cover: the forum, the State's route under s.419, the complainant's route under s.419(4), the victim's own right under the proviso to s.413, the case law, and the standard applied on an appeal against acquittal.

A note on the statute. The paper names s.307 IPC. Attempt to murder is now s.109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, punishable with up to ten years and fine, and with imprisonment for life if hurt is caused. It is triable by a Court of Session, so on these facts the acquittal is by a Court of Session.

(a) The appeal lies to the High Court.

Route 1, the victim's right: proviso to s.413, BNSS. "The victim shall have a right to prefer an appeal against any order passed by the Court acquitting the accused or convicting for a lesser offence or imposing inadequate compensation, and such appeal shall lie to the Court to which an appeal ordinarily lies against the order of conviction of such Court."

Rajesh is a victim within s.2(1)(y), having suffered injury by the act of the accused. So he may appeal in his own name, without the State, and the appeal lies to the High Court, because that is where an appeal against a conviction by a Court of Session would go under s.415(2).

Route 2, special leave for a complainant: s.419(4). Where the acquittal is in a case instituted upon complaint, the complainant may apply to the High Court for special leave to appeal, and if granted may present the appeal. By s.419(5) the application must be made within six months where the complainant is a public servant and sixty days in every other case; by s.419(6), if special leave is refused, no appeal lies under s.419(1) or (2) either. This route applies only if Rajesh had filed a private complaint; on a police case, route 1 is his.

Case law.

For full marks, cover: the classification of the offence with the section, the bail position with s.480 and its provisos, default bail, anticipatory bail, and the case law on the approach to bail in a sexual offence.

(b) The nature of the offence, taken first because the bail answer depends on it.

Rape is now s.63, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly s.375, IPC), punished by s.64 with rigorous imprisonment of not less than ten years, extendable to imprisonment for life, and fine. Aggravated forms are in s.64(2); gang rape is s.70; rape of a woman under twelve and certain gang rapes carry life imprisonment for the remainder of natural life or death.

Its classification under the First Schedule to the BNSS:

• Fourth proviso to s.480(1): where the offence is punishable with death, life or seven years or more, no bail without giving the Public Prosecutor an opportunity of hearing. This applies here.
• Third proviso: the mere fact that he may be needed for identification by witnesses or for police custody beyond the first fifteen days is not sufficient ground to refuse bail.
• s.480(3): because the offence carries seven years or more, the Court shall impose the conditions that he attend as required, not commit a similar offence, and not tamper with the evidence or threaten witnesses.

1. The Court of Session or High Court, s.483 (formerly s.439), has wider powers and may grant bail in any case, including one where the Magistrate is barred, and may impose or set aside conditions.
2. Default bail, s.187(3). If the charge sheet is not filed within ninety days (the period for offences punishable with death, life, or ten years or more, and s.64 is one), he is entitled to be released on bail if he applies and furnishes bail. This is an indefeasible right while it lasts: Bikramjit Singh v. State of Punjab, (2020) 10 SCC 616. It is lost once the charge sheet is filed.

• Aparna Bhat v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (2021) 16 SCC 549: a decision every student of this subject should be able to cite. The Supreme Court held that in granting bail in a sexual offence, courts must not impose conditions that trivialise the offence or suggest a compromise with the victim, such as directing the accused to visit the complainant's house, to have a rakhi tied by her, or to marry her. It laid down guidelines on the language and reasoning of such orders and directed gender sensitisation for judges and prosecutors.
• It is also settled that an order granting or refusing bail must record reasons, though it must not contain a detailed appreciation of the evidence, because anything said at that stage would prejudice the trial.

Theft is a cognizable offence. It is s.303, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly ss.378 and 379, IPC), and the First Schedule to the BNSS classifies theft under s.303(2) as cognizable and non-bailable, triable by any Magistrate. Under s.2(1)(g), BNSS, that means a police officer may arrest without warrant, and under s.173(1) the information must be recorded.

One point of precision the First Schedule forces on you. The entry for s.303(2) has a second row: where the value of the stolen property is less than five thousand rupees and the accused is a first-time offender who returns the property, the offence is shown as non-cognizable and bailable, the punishment being community service. So the classification of A's case turns on what the phone was worth, and a careful answer says so. On the facts as given the value is not stated; if it is five thousand rupees or more, the offence is plainly cognizable and the analysis below applies in full. If it is less, the officer would still have to act on the information under s.174 and refer A to the Magistrate, and he still could not simply turn A away.

One qualification, and it does not help this officer. By s.173(3), BNSS, a preliminary enquiry of up to fourteen days is permitted, with the prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police, only where the offence is punishable with three years or more but less than seven. Theft on a first conviction carries up to three years under s.303(2), BNS, while the First Schedule shows the offence as carrying rigorous imprisonment of not less than one year extending to five years on a second or subsequent conviction, so on either reading it is arguably inside that band rather than below it. But the qualification still does not save this officer, for two reasons that do not depend on the argument: he took no DSP's permission, and s.173(3) permits an enquiry into whether a prima facie case exists, never a refusal to receive the information at all. Do not rest the answer on the band; rest it on those two points.

(b) A's remedies.

3. Private complaint to the Magistrate, s.223, BNSS (formerly s.200, CrPC). The Magistrate examines the complainant and the witnesses on oath and may take cognizance and issue process under s.227. Note the new proviso to s.223(1): no cognizance shall be taken on a complaint without giving the accused an opportunity of being heard.
4. Writ petition under Art 226 of the Constitution for a direction to register and investigate, or a complaint to the Police Complaints Authority, the State Human Rights Commission, or the officer's superiors for departmental action, which Lalita Kumari expressly directed.

A should also note two practical rights: by s.173(2) he is entitled to a copy of the FIR forthwith and free of cost once it is registered, and by s.193(3)(ii) the police must inform him of the progress of the investigation within ninety days.

• (ii) he is satisfied that the arrest is necessary for one of five purposes: to prevent a further offence; for proper investigation; to prevent the disappearance or tampering of evidence; to prevent inducement, threat or promise to a witness; or because his presence in Court cannot otherwise be ensured;

and the officer shall record his reasons in writing while making the arrest. If no such reasons were recorded, the arrest itself is bad. Further, by s.35(3) the officer should ordinarily have issued a notice of appearance instead of arresting, and only arrested on non-compliance.

The detention is unlawful without more. Section 58, BNSS (formerly s.57, CrPC) provides that no police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without warrant for longer than is reasonable, and in no case beyond twenty-four hours excluding the time necessary for the journey to the Magistrate's Court, without a special order of a Magistrate under s.187. Detention beyond twenty-four hours without production is therefore illegal, and it is also a breach of Art 22(2) of the Constitution.

(b) The rights violated.

2. The officers are liable. D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, (1997) 1 SCC 416, laid down eleven mandatory requirements for arrest and detention, and held that failure to comply renders the officer liable to departmental action and to punishment for contempt of court, in any High Court having territorial jurisdiction.
3. Compensation may be awarded. In Rudul Sah v. State of Bihar, (1983) 4 SCC 141, and Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa, (1993) 2 SCC 746, the Supreme Court held that compensation is a public law remedy for a breach of Art 21 by the State, awarded in the writ jurisdiction and independent of any private law claim in tort.
4. Wrongful confinement. An officer who detains a person knowing the detention to be unlawful may himself be liable for wrongful confinement under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and s.198, BNS, 2023 (formerly s.166, IPC) punishes a public servant who knowingly disobeys a direction of the law with intent to cause injury, with simple imprisonment up to one year, or fine, or both. (Do not confuse it with s.199, BNS, which punishes a public servant who fails to record information under s.173(1), BNSS, in the specified sexual offence and trafficking cases.)

• s.4(2) composition: a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the first class, not being a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or Chief Judicial Magistrate, called the Principal Magistrate, with at least three years' experience, and two social workers, of whom at least one shall be a woman. The three form a Bench, and the Bench has the powers of a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the first class.
• s.4(3) qualification of social workers: at least seven years of active involvement in health, education or welfare activities pertaining to children, or a practising professional with a degree in child psychology, psychiatry, sociology or law.
• s.4(4) disqualification: any past record of violation of human or child rights; a conviction involving moral turpitude not reversed or pardoned; removal or dismissal from government service; or any history of child abuse, employment of child labour or other violation of human rights.
• s.4(5) training: the State Government must provide induction training and sensitisation of all members, including the Principal Magistrate, within sixty days of appointment.

• s.8(2): the same powers may be exercised by the High Court and the Children's Court when proceedings come before them under s.19 or in appeal or revision.
• s.8(3) functions, of which the principal ones are: ensuring the informed participation of the child and the parent or guardian at every step; ensuring the child's rights are protected throughout apprehension, inquiry, aftercare and rehabilitation; ensuring legal aid through the legal services institutions; providing an interpreter or translator where needed; directing the Probation Officer or Child Welfare Officer to conduct a social investigation report; adjudicating and disposing of cases of children in conflict with law under s.18; transferring matters to the Committee where the child is found to be in need of care and protection; conducting the preliminary assessment under s.15 for heinous offences; inspecting observation homes at least once a month; ordering the release of a child where the apprehension is found unlawful; and conducting inquiry into reports of abuse of children in an observation or special home.

4. order the child or his parent to pay a fine;
5. direct the child to be released on probation of good conduct and placed under the care of a parent, guardian or fit person on a bond, for up to three years;
6. direct release on probation under the care of a fit facility, for up to three years;
7. direct the child to be sent to a special home for a period of not less than three years for reformative services.

The Board may in addition, under s.18(2), order the child to attend school, a vocational training centre or a de-addiction programme.

6. Trial as an adult, ss.15 and 18(3). Where the offence is heinous under s.2(33), being one for which the minimum punishment is seven years or more, and the child has completed sixteen years, the Board conducts a preliminary assessment into his mental and physical capacity to commit the offence, his ability to understand its consequences, and the circumstances. The Explanation to s.15 says the assessment is not a trial. If the Board finds a need to try him as an adult, it may under s.18(3) transfer the trial to the Children's Court, which then decides for itself under s.19(1).

• Art 22(2): every person arrested shall be produced before the nearest Magistrate within twenty-four hours, excluding journey time, and not detained beyond that without the Magistrate's authority.
• Art 39A: the State shall provide free legal aid so that opportunities for securing justice are not denied by reason of economic or other disability.

2. The statutory rights, BNSS, 2023.

• s.43(5): no woman shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise save in exceptional circumstances, and then only on the prior permission of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class, obtained by a woman police officer on a written report.
• s.49(2): a woman shall be searched only by another woman, with strict regard to decency.
• s.53, second proviso: her medical examination shall be only by or under the supervision of a female medical officer.
• s.480(1), first proviso: the Court may grant bail even in the barred categories where the accused is a child, a woman, or is sick or infirm.

4. The case law.

• Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P., (1994) 4 SCC 260: no arrest merely because it is lawful to arrest; the officer must be able to justify it. Arrest brings humiliation and a lasting scar, and the arrestee has a right to have a friend or relative informed and to be told of that right.

• Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra, (1983) 2 SCC 96: directions for the protection of women in police custody, including separate lock-ups guarded by women constables and interrogation only in the presence of a woman officer.
• Prem Shankar Shukla v. Delhi Administration, AIR 1980 SC 1535: routine handcuffing is unconstitutional.
• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273: for offences punishable up to seven years, a notice of appearance must be issued and the necessity of arrest recorded; a Magistrate must not authorise detention mechanically.

For full marks, cover: the meaning of "property", the whole of s.497 including the four new sub-sections, s.498 at the conclusion of trial, ss.499 to 504, the attachment of proceeds of crime under ss.106 and 107, appeal, and the reason the chapter was rewritten.

1. What "property" means. The Explanation to s.497(1), BNSS, 2023 says property includes (a) property of any kind or document produced before the Court or in its custody, and (b) any property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed or which appears to have been used for the commission of any offence. Section 498(5) adds that property includes not only what was originally in a party's possession, but anything into which it has been converted or exchanged, and anything acquired by that conversion or exchange.

2. Pending trial: s.497, BNSS (formerly s.451, CrPC). This section has been substantially rewritten and is where most of the marks are.

3. Interim custody: s.503, BNSS (formerly s.457, CrPC). Where the seizure of property is reported to a Magistrate and the property is not produced before a Court during an inquiry or trial, the Magistrate may make such order as he thinks fit for the disposal of the property or its delivery to the person entitled to possession. Where that person is unknown, the Magistrate may detain the property and issue a proclamation specifying the articles, requiring any person claiming them to appear within six months.

4. At the conclusion of trial: s.498, BNSS (formerly s.452, CrPC).

• s.498(1): when an investigation, inquiry or trial is concluded, the Court may make such order as it thinks fit for the disposal of the property, by destruction, confiscation, or delivery to any person claiming to be entitled to possession, of any property produced before it or in its custody, or regarding which an offence appears to have been committed, or which has been used in committing an offence.
• s.498(2): delivery may be unconditional, or on condition that the person executes a bond, with or without sureties, undertaking to restore the property if the order is modified or set aside on appeal or revision.

• s.502 (formerly s.456): power to restore possession of immovable property to a person dispossessed by criminal force or show of force, within thirty days of the conviction.
• s.504 (formerly s.458): procedure where no claimant appears within six months of the proclamation, when the property is at the disposal of the State Government and may be sold.
• s.505 (formerly s.459): the power to sell perishable property, of a value under ten thousand rupees or subject to speedy and natural decay.

6. Proceeds of crime: ss.106 and 107, BNSS. These are new and should be mentioned because they change the picture. Section 106 empowers a police officer to seize any property alleged or suspected to have been stolen or found in circumstances creating suspicion of an offence, reporting the seizure to the Magistrate. Section 107 allows a police officer, with the approval of the Superintendent or Commissioner of Police, to apply to the Court for attachment of property derived from criminal activity, on which the Court issues a show cause notice of fourteen days and, if satisfied, orders attachment and distribution of the proceeds to the victims.

2. s.249: opening the case for the prosecution. The prosecutor opens his case by describing the charge and stating by what evidence he proposes to prove the guilt of the accused.
3. s.250: discharge. The accused may apply for discharge within sixty days from the date of commitment, a limit new in the BNSS. If, on consideration of the record and documents and after hearing both sides, the Judge considers that there is not sufficient ground for proceeding, he shall discharge the accused and record his reasons.
4. s.251: framing of charge. If the Judge is of opinion that there is ground for presuming that the accused committed an offence which

• (a) is not exclusively triable by the Court of Session, he frames a charge and transfers the case to the Chief Judicial Magistrate or a JMFC, to be tried as a warrant case on a police report; or
• (b) is exclusively triable by the Court, he frames a charge in writing within sixty days from the date of first hearing on charge. That time limit is new.
• s.251(2): the charge is read and explained to the accused, present physically or through audio-video electronic means, and he is asked whether he pleads guilty or claims to be tried.

2. s.256: entering upon the defence. Where the accused is not acquitted under s.255, he is called upon to enter on his defence and adduce evidence. Any written statement he puts in is filed with the record. He may apply for process to compel attendance, which the Judge shall issue unless satisfied that the application is made for vexation or delay or to defeat the ends of justice.
3. s.257: arguments. When the defence evidence is complete, the prosecutor sums up his case and the accused or his advocate is entitled to reply. Where the accused raises a point of law, the prosecution may make submissions on it with the Judge's permission.
4. s.258: judgment. After hearing arguments and points of law, the Judge gives judgment as soon as possible, within thirty days from the completion of arguments, extendable to forty-five days for reasons recorded in writing. This limit is new.

• s.258(2): if the accused is convicted, the Judge shall, unless he proceeds under s.401 (release on probation or after admonition), hear the accused on the question of sentence and then pass sentence according to law.

• s.346 (formerly s.309): adjournments, which the BNSS restricts. The proceedings shall be held as expeditiously as possible, and in a trial for a sexual offence the trial shall be completed within two months from the date of filing of the charge sheet; no adjournment shall be granted at the request of a party unless the circumstances are beyond that party's control, and not more than two adjournments may be granted to any one party.
• s.530: any trial, inquiry or proceeding, including the recording of evidence and the examination of the accused or witnesses, may be held in electronic mode.
• s.356: a proclaimed offender who has absconded may be tried and sentenced in his absence, subject to the safeguards there.