Section 353 BNSS: Accused person to be competent witness
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 353 BNSS at a Glance
Section 353 BNSS deals with accused person to be competent witness. It replaced Section 315 CrPC on 1 July 2024.
Section 353 BNSS Bare Act Text
(1) Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial:
Provided that—
(a) he shall not be called as a witness except on his own request in writing;
(b) his failure to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against himself or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
(2) Any person against whom proceedings are instituted in any Criminal Court under section 101, or section 126, or section 127, or section 128, or section 129, or under Chapter X or under Part B, Part C or Part D of Chapter XI, may offer himself as a witness in such proceedings:
Provided that in proceedings under section 127, section 128, or section 129, the failure of such person to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against him or any other person proceeded against together with him at the same inquiry.
Source: Section 353, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 353 BNSS in Simple Words
Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 says that any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
Under the first proviso, he shall not be called as a witness except on his own request in writing, and his failure to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against himself or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
Section 353(2) BNSS says a person against whom proceedings are instituted under Section 101 BNSS, Section 126 BNSS, Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS, Section 129 BNSS, Chapter X of the Sanhita or Part B, Part C or Part D of Chapter XI of the Sanhita may offer himself as a witness in such proceedings.
When Section 353 BNSS Applies
- Section 353(1) BNSS says any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
- The proviso at Section 353(1)(a) BNSS says he shall not be called as a witness except on his own request in writing.
- The proviso at Section 353(1)(b) BNSS says his failure to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against himself or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
- Section 353(2) BNSS says any person against whom proceedings are instituted in any Criminal Court under Section 101 BNSS, Section 126 BNSS, Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS, Section 129 BNSS, Chapter X of the Sanhita or Part B, Part C or Part D of Chapter XI of the Sanhita may offer himself as a witness in such proceedings.
- The proviso to Section 353(2) BNSS says that in proceedings under Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS or Section 129 BNSS, the failure of such person to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against him or any other person proceeded against together with him at the same inquiry.
Example of Section 353 BNSS
When Section 353 BNSS Does Not Apply
- Section 353(1) BNSS speaks of an accused person as a competent witness for the defence. It does not deal with a witness for the prosecution.
- The proviso to Section 353(2) BNSS speaks of proceedings under Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS and Section 129 BNSS. It does not deal with proceedings under Section 101 BNSS or Section 126 BNSS.
Section 353 BNSS in the CrPC (Previous Law)
Section 353 BNSS replaced Section 315 CrPC from 1 July 2024.
From 1 July 2024, Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The heading and the text are the same, except for the renumbered cross-references in Section 353(2) BNSS and its proviso. Section 353(2) BNSS reads Section 101 BNSS, Section 126 BNSS, Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS, Section 129 BNSS, Chapter X of the Sanhita and Chapter XI of the Sanhita where Section 315(2) CrPC read Section 98 CrPC, Section 107 CrPC, Section 108 CrPC, Section 109 CrPC, Section 110 CrPC, Chapter IX of the Code and Chapter X of the Code.
Each sub-section below names its own source.
FAQs on Section 353 BNSS
Can an accused person be called as a witness without a written request under Section 353 BNSS?▼
No. The proviso at Section 353(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 says he shall not be called as a witness except on his own request in writing.
What happens if an accused person does not give evidence under Section 353 BNSS?▼
Under the proviso at Section 353(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, his failure to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against himself or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
In which proceedings may a person offer himself as a witness under Section 353(2) BNSS?▼
Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 says any person against whom proceedings are instituted in any Criminal Court under Section 101 BNSS, Section 126 BNSS, Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS, Section 129 BNSS, Chapter X of the Sanhita or Part B, Part C or Part D of Chapter XI of the Sanhita may offer himself as a witness in such proceedings.
What changed from Section 315 CrPC to Section 353 BNSS from 1 July 2024?▼
From 1 July 2024, Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The heading and the text are the same, except for the cross-references. Section 353(2) BNSS reads Section 101 BNSS, Section 126 BNSS, Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS and Section 129 BNSS, Chapter X of the Sanhita and Part B, Part C and Part D of Chapter XI of the Sanhita where Section 315(2) CrPC read Section 98 CrPC, Section 107 CrPC, Section 108 CrPC, Section 109 CrPC and Section 110 CrPC, Chapter IX of the Code and Part B, Part C and Part D of Chapter X of the Code. The proviso to Section 353(2) BNSS reads Section 127 BNSS, Section 128 BNSS and Section 129 BNSS where the proviso to Section 315(2) CrPC read Section 108 CrPC, Section 109 CrPC and Section 110 CrPC.
Section 353 BNSS: Sub-sections Explained
Section 353(1) BNSS: Accused person to be competent witness
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Bare Act Text
(1) Any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court shall be a competent witness for the defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against him or any person charged together with him at the same trial:
Provided that—
(a) he shall not be called as a witness except on his own request in writing;
(b) his failure to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against himself or any person charged together with him at the same trial.
Section 353(2) BNSS: Accused person to be competent witness
▶
Bare Act Text
(2) Any person against whom proceedings are instituted in any Criminal Court under section 101, or section 126, or section 127, or section 128, or section 129, or under Chapter X or under Part B, Part C or Part D of Chapter XI, may offer himself as a witness in such proceedings:
Provided that in proceedings under section 127, section 128, or section 129, the failure of such person to give evidence shall not be made the subject of any comment by any of the parties or the Court or give rise to any presumption against him or any other person proceeded against together with him at the same inquiry.
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Sources: Bare Act Text, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Last updated: 21 Oct 2026 ·