Order to pay costs in non-cognizable cases
Section 400 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with order to pay costs in non-cognizable cases. Whenever any complaint of a non-cognizable offence is made to a Court, the Court, if it convicts the accused, may, in addition to the penalty imposed upon him, order him to pay to the complainant, in whole or in part, the cost incurred by him in the prosecution, and may further order that in default The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) Whenever any complaint of a non-cognizable offence is made to a Court, the Court, if it convicts the accused, may, in addition to the penalty imposed upon him, order him to pay to the complainant, in whole or in part, the cost incurred by him in the prosecution, and may further order that in default of payment, the accused shall suffer simple imprisonment for a period not exceeding thirty days and such costs may include any expenses incurred in respect of process-fees, witnesses and advocate's fees which the Court may consider reasonable.
(2) An order under this section may also be made by an Appellate Court or by the High Court or Court of Session when exercising its powers of revision.
Section 400, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 359 Order to pay costs in non-cognizable cases Text carried over almost unchanged 99%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 1
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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Kumaran vs State of Kerala
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 359, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When compensation is ordered under Section 357(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the deeming fiction contained in Section 431 Cr.P.C. extends the application of Section 421(1) and Section 70 IPC to such compensation. Consequently, compensation remains recoverable even after the accused has undergone the default imprisonment sentence prescribed for non-payment, without the necessity for recording special reasons in writing. This is because the proviso to Section 421(1), as amended following the 41st Law Commission Report, creates a disjunctive category for compensation orders that operates independently of the requirement for special reasons.
On this section: Relates to payment of costs; referenced in proviso to Section 431
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A. K. Vijaya Kumar vs R. Mohan
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 359, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a court imposes a sentence of imprisonment without a fine component under Section 357(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it possesses the legal power and authority to award an alternative sentence of imprisonment in default of payment of the compensation amount ordered by that court, because (1) such power is necessary to give effect to Section 357(3)'s objective of ensuring victim compensation is not rendered illusory; (2) the absence of an enforcement mechanism with deterrent effect would frustrate the entire purpose of the compensation order; (3) Section 431 of CrPC puts compensation awards on par with fines for recovery purposes, and since Section 64 of IPC permits default imprisonment for non-payment of fines, the same principle applies to compensation; (4) the court may impose a reasonable compensation amount and provide reasonable time for payment, enforcing the order by imposing a default sentence, thereby ensuring both victim relief and proportionate deterrence against the offender.
On this section: Referenced in context of Section 431 proviso; provides for payment of costs by court
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 400
What have the courts held on Section 400 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Kumaran vs State of Kerala (05 May 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 359, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Relates to payment of costs; referenced in proviso to Section 431. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2012 to 2017.
How do I find court cases under Section 400 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 400, section 400 BNSS, section 400 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 400z and s 400 bnss. 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 Kumaran vs State of Kerala (05 May 2017).
What should I read with Section 400 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. It carries forward CrPC 359 (Order to pay costs in non-cognizable cases), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 400 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 400 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 400, 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.