Sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass
Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass. A High Court may pass any sentence authorised by law. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) A High Court may pass any sentence authorised by law.
(2) A Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge may pass any sentence authorised by law; but any sentence of death passed by any such Judge shall be subject to confirmation by the High Court.
Section 22, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 28 Sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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B. A. Umesh vs Registrar, Supreme Court of India
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 28, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In review petitions arising from cases where death penalty has been awarded, a limited oral hearing of a maximum of thirty minutes per side in open Court is mandated by Article 21 of the Constitution as a just, fair and reasonable procedure, as a distinct exception to the general rule established in P.N. Eswara Iyer v. Registrar, Supreme Court. This exception is justified because: (1) death penalty is irreversible and results in deprivation of the most fundamental right to life; (2) different judicially trained minds applying the 'rarest of rare' sentencing doctrine can reach diametrically opposite conclusions on identical facts; and (3) even a remote chance of deviating from an original decision in a death sentence case justifies oral hearing as part of a 'reasonable procedure' under Article 21. All cases in which death sentence has been awarded by the High Court shall be heard by a Bench consisting of not less than three Judges under Supreme Court Rules 2013 Order VI Rule 3.
On this section: Sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass - only High Court and Sessions Court authorized to award death penalty
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Duryodhan Rout vs State of Orissa
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 28, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a person is convicted of multiple offences at one trial, including one offence for which the sentence is life imprisonment, the proviso to Sub-Section (2) of Section 31 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, which limits aggregate imprisonment to 14 years, applies to prevent consecutive sentences. All sentences must run concurrently because life imprisonment means imprisonment for the entire remaining life of the convict, and the concept of consecutive sentences does not apply when one sentence is life imprisonment. The term 'imprisonment' in Section 31 CrPC includes life imprisonment as defined in the General Clauses Act, 1897, and life imprisonment is not equivalent to 14 years or 20 years but means imprisonment for the whole of the remaining period of the convict's natural life unless remitted by the appropriate Government.
On this section: Power of High Court to pass any sentence authorised by law; cited in context of discussing sentencing powers
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 22
What have the courts held on Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
B. A. Umesh vs Registrar, Supreme Court of India (02 Sep 2014) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 28, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass - only High Court and Sessions Court authorized to award death penalty. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNSS 22, section 22 BNSS, section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with B. A. Umesh vs Registrar, Supreme Court of India (02 Sep 2014).
What should I read with Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
It carries forward CrPC 28 (Sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 22, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 359. Compounding of offences1355 words
- 187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1122 words
- 2. Definitions956 words
- 243. Trial for more than one offence930 words
- 35. When police may arrest without warrant881 words
- 480. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence823 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.