Section 4 BNS: Punishments

Section 4 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) enumerates the six categories of punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of the Sanhita. Those punishments are death under clause (a), imprisonment for life under clause (b), imprisonment under clause (c), forfeiture of property under clause (d), fine under clause (e), and community service under clause (f).

Under clause (c), imprisonment is divided into two descriptions: rigorous imprisonment, which means imprisonment with hard labour, and simple imprisonment. Section 4 BNS is a general provision that applies across the Sanhita to define the permissible forms of punishment, and it does not create a standalone criminal offence or prescribe a sentence on its own.

Instead, individual offence provisions in the BNS specify which of these six punishments apply to a particular crime and in what measure. Section 4 BNS itself only names the authorised categories of punishment, including community service and imprisonment for life, without defining their duration or the specific offences for which they may be imposed.

Section 4 BNS replaces Section 53 IPC from the old criminal code.

Section 4 BNS keeps the five punishments and adds a sixth. Community service is now listed as clause f. The BNS also letters the clauses a to f, in place of the IPC words First, Secondly, Fourthly, Fifthly and Sixthly, and says this Sanhita where the IPC said this Code. It is now the first section of Chapter II of the BNS.