Section 473 BNSS: Power to suspend or remit sentences

Section 473 BNSS Bare Act Text

(1) When any person has been sentenced to punishment for an offence, the appropriate Government may, at any time, without conditions or upon any conditions which the person sentenced accepts, suspend the execution of his sentence or remit the whole or any part of the punishment to which he has been sentenced.

(2) Whenever an application is made to the appropriate Government for the suspension or remission of a sentence, the appropriate Government may require the presiding Judge of the Court before or by which the conviction was had or confirmed, to state his opinion as to whether the application should be granted or refused, together with his reasons for such opinion and also to forward with the statement of such opinion a certified copy of the record of the trial or of such record thereof as exists.

(3) If any condition on which a sentence has been suspended or remitted is, in the opinion of the appropriate Government, not fulfilled, the appropriate Government may cancel the suspension or remission, and thereupon the person in whose favour the sentence has been suspended or remitted may, if at large, be arrested by any police officer, without warrant and remanded to undergo the unexpired portion of the sentence.

(4) The condition on which a sentence is suspended or remitted under this section may be one to be fulfilled by the person in whose favour the sentence is suspended or remitted, or one independent of his will.

(5) The appropriate Government may, by general rules or special orders, give directions as to the suspension of sentences and the conditions on which petitions should be presented and dealt with:

Provided that in the case of any sentence (other than a sentence of fine) passed on a person above the age of eighteen years, no such petition by the person sentenced or by any other person on his behalf shall be entertained, unless the person sentenced is in jail, and—

(a) where such petition is made by the person sentenced, it is presented through the officer in charge of the jail; or

(b) where such petition is made by any other person, it contains a declaration that the person sentenced is in jail.

(6) The provisions of the above sub-sections shall also apply to any order passed by a Criminal Court under any section of this Sanhita or of any other law, which restricts the liberty of any person or imposes any liability upon him or his property.

(7) In this section and in section 474, the expression "appropriate Government" means,—

(a) in cases where the sentence is for an offence against, or the order referred to in sub-section (6) is passed under, any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends, the Central Government;

(b) in other cases, the Government of the State within which the offender is sentenced or the said order is passed.

Source: Section 473, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 473 BNSS in Simple Words

When Section 473 BNSS Applies

• When a person has been sentenced to punishment for an offence, the appropriate Government under Section 473(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 may at any time suspend the execution of the sentence or remit the whole or any part of the punishment, either unconditionally or on conditions that the sentenced person accepts.
• When an application is made to suspend or remit a sentence, the appropriate Government under Section 473(2) BNSS may require the presiding Judge of the court that convicted the person or confirmed the conviction to give a reasoned opinion on whether to grant or refuse the application and to send a certified copy of the existing trial record.
• If any condition of a suspension or remission, whether to be fulfilled by the sentenced person or independent of his will, is in the opinion of the appropriate Government not fulfilled, the Government under Section 473(3) BNSS may cancel the relief and any police officer may arrest the person, if at large, without warrant, and the person may be remanded to undergo the unexpired portion of the sentence.
• Under Section 473(5) BNSS, the appropriate Government may issue general rules or special orders on suspending sentences and handling petitions, subject to the proviso that for any sentence other than a fine passed on a person above the age of eighteen years, a petition by or on behalf of the sentenced person shall be entertained only if the person is in jail and the petition is submitted through the officer in charge of the jail or contains a declaration that the person is in jail.
• Under Section 473(6) BNSS and Section 473(7) BNSS, these powers and rules shall also apply to any Criminal Court order under the Sanhita or any other law that restricts liberty or imposes liability on a person or property, with the Central Government acting for matters within Union executive power and the State Government where the order or sentence is passed acting in other cases.

Example of Section 473 BNSS

When Section 473 BNSS Does Not Apply

• Conditional suspension or remission under Section 473(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 does not apply if the person sentenced does not accept the conditions upon which the appropriate Government proposes to suspend or remit the sentence.
• Because the proviso to Section 473(5) BNSS is an exception limited to a sentence other than a fine passed on a person above the age of eighteen years, that jail restriction does not apply where the sentence is only a sentence of fine or where the person sentenced is not above the age of eighteen years.

Section 473 BNSS in the CrPC (Previous Law)

FAQs on Section 473 BNSS

Section 473 BNSS: Sub-sections Explained

Sections Related to Section 473 BNSS