Procedure where Judges of Court of appeal are equally divided
Section 433 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with procedure where Judges of Court of appeal are equally divided. When an appeal under this Chapter is heard by a High Court before a Bench of Judges and they are divided in opinion, the appeal, with their opinions, shall be laid before another Judge of that Court, and that Judge, after such hearing as he thinks fit, shall deliver his opinion, and the judgment or The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
When an appeal under this Chapter is heard by a High Court before a Bench of Judges and they are divided in opinion, the appeal, with their opinions, shall be laid before another Judge of that Court, and that Judge, after such hearing as he thinks fit, shall deliver his opinion, and the judgment or order shall follow that opinion:
Provided that if one of the Judges constituting the Bench, or, where the appeal is laid before another Judge under this section, that Judge, so requires, the appeal shall be re-heard and decided by a larger Bench of Judges.
Section 433, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 392 Procedure where Judges of Court of Appeal are equally divided Text carried over almost unchanged 100%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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 Regr. Gen. High Court of Karnataka
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 392, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In a case involving rape followed by murder of a defenseless widow, combined with robbery, where the convict is a former police official with a history of seven prior convictions spanning multiple serious crimes, escape from judicial custody, commission of another crime within days of the present crime, and demonstrated lack of reformation potential and future dangerousness to society, the cumulative aggravating circumstances satisfy the 'rarest of rare' test established in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab and justify capital punishment as the appropriate sentence. The young age of the offender, non-premeditation, or leaving a child victim alive do not constitute sufficient mitigating circumstances to outweigh these grave aggravating factors. Furthermore, Section 235(2) Cr.P.C. does not mandate a separate hearing date on sentence if the accused has been adequately heard on the question of sentence by the trial court and appellate courts.
On this section: Procedure for hearing by third judge when Division Bench is split on opinion; third judge agreed with majority view on 'rarest of rare' determination
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 433
What have the courts held on Section 433 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
B. A. Umesh vs Regr. Gen. High Court of Karnataka (03 Oct 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 392, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Procedure for hearing by third judge when Division Bench is split on opinion; third judge agreed with majority view on 'rarest of rare' determination.
How do I find court cases under Section 433 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 433, section 433 BNSS, section 433 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type s 433 bnss. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with B. A. Umesh vs Regr. Gen. High Court of Karnataka (03 Oct 2016).
What should I read with Section 433 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 392 (Procedure where Judges of Court of Appeal are equally divided), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 433 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 433 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 433, 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.