In India, Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) on 1 July 2024. The two compounding tables survive with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section numbers; no offence becomes newly compoundable, adultery drops out, and sub-sections (3), (4)(a) and (6) are updated.
At a glance
| CrPC | BNSS | What it provides | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 320(1) | 359(1) | Offences the named person may compound without the court's permission | Modified (BNS numbers; adultery row gone; IPC 428-429 rows merged) |
| 320(2) | 359(2) | Offences compoundable with the permission of the court where the prosecution is pending | Modified (BNS numbers; row-wording edits) |
| 320(3) | 359(3) | Abetment, attempt, common intention and common object compounded "in like manner" | Minor edit (IPC 34, 149 → BNS 3(5), 190) |
| 320(4) | 359(4) | Compounding for a minor, a person of unsound mind or a deceased victim | Modified (wording of (a)) |
| 320(5) | 359(5) | Leave of court after committal or while an appeal is pending | Identical |
| 320(6) | 359(6) | Revisional court may allow compounding | Minor edit (CrPC 401 → BNSS 442) |
| 320(7)-(9) | 359(7)-(9) | Bar where a previous conviction aggravates punishment; effect of acquittal; no other compounding | Identical |
The heading, "Compounding of offences", is unchanged.
What changed
- Modified — Table under sub-section (1): each IPC section number is replaced by the BNS provision for the same offence (for example 323 → 115(2), 379 → 303(2), 506 → 351(2) and 351(3)), and the rows follow BNS order.
- Omitted — adultery: the CrPC row "Adultery. 497 The husband of the woman." has no counterpart. The BNS contains no adultery offence.
- Modified — animal mischief: the CrPC rows for IPC 428 ("The owner of the animal") and IPC 429 ("The owner of the cattle or animal") become one row, "Mischief by killing or maiming animal. 325 The owner of the animal." Section 325 BNS covers "any animal".
- Minor edit — row wording: "Counterfeiting a trade or property mark" becomes "Counterfeiting a property mark" (BNS 347(1)); the IPC 486 row becomes "Selling goods marked with a counterfeit property mark" (BNS 349); the IPC 509 row becomes "Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman" (BNS 79).
- Modified — Table under sub-section (2): BNS numbers, with drafting edits to row descriptions (the IPC 509 row noted above; "the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union territory" becomes "the Governor of the State or the Administrator of the Union territory"). The same 13 rows remain; none moves between the tables.
- Minor edit — sub-section (3): "section 34 or 149 of the Indian Penal Code" becomes "sub-section (5) of section 3 or section 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023".
- Modified — sub-section (4)(a): "is under the age of eighteen years or is an idiot or a lunatic" becomes "is a child or of unsound mind". Section 2(2) BNSS adopts BNS definitions, and Section 2(3) BNS defines "child" as "any person below the age of eighteen years", so on a reading of the text the age line is unchanged.
- Minor edit — sub-section (6): revision "under section 401" becomes "under section 442".
Statutory text (relevant extract)
Extract, Section 320(3) and (9) CrPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):
(3) When an offence is compoundable under this section, the abetment of such offence or an attempt to commit such offence (when such attempt is itself an offence) or where the accused is liable under section 34 or 149 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) may be compounded in like manner.
(9) No offence shall be compounded except as provided by this section.
Extract, Section 359(4)(a) and (8) BNSS:
(4) (a) When the person who would otherwise be competent to compound an offence under this section is a child or of unsound mind, any person competent to contract on his behalf may, with the permission of the Court, compound such offence…
(8) The composition of an offence under this section shall have the effect of an acquittal of the accused with whom the offence has been compounded.
The tables mapped row by row
Section 359(1) BNSS — no permission needed (offence wording shortened; "IPC → BNS")
| Offence | IPC → BNS | Compounded by |
|---|---|---|
| Enticing or detaining a married woman with criminal intent | 498 → 84 | The husband of the woman and the woman |
| Voluntarily causing hurt; hurt on provocation; grievous hurt on grave and sudden provocation | 323, 334, 335 → 115(2), 122(1), 122(2) | The person to whom the hurt is caused |
| Wrongful restraint or confinement; confinement for three days, ten days, or in secret | 341, 342, 343, 344, 346 → 126(2), 127(2), 127(3), 127(4), 127(6) | The person restrained or confined |
| Assault or use of criminal force | 352, 355, 358 → 131, 133, 136 | The person assaulted or to whom criminal force is used |
| Words wounding religious feelings | 298 → 302 | The person whose religious feelings are intended to be wounded |
| Theft; dishonest misappropriation; breach of trust by carrier or wharfinger; receiving or concealing stolen property | 379, 403, 407, 411, 414 → 303(2), 314, 316(3), 317(2), 317(5) | The owner of the property |
| Cheating; cheating by personation | 417, 419 → 318(2), 319(2) | The person cheated |
| Fraud on creditors; fraudulent transfer deed; fraudulent removal of property | 421, 422, 423, 424 → 320, 321, 322, 323 | The creditors, or the person, affected |
| Mischief (private loss); to an animal; to irrigation works (private loss) | 426, 427, 428, 429, 430 → 324(2), 324(4), 325, 326(a) | The person who suffers the loss; the owner of the animal |
| Criminal trespass; house-trespass; house-trespass to commit an imprisonable offence | 447, 448, 451 → 329(3), 329(4), 332(c) | The person in possession |
| False or counterfeit property mark; selling marked goods | 482, 483, 486 → 345(3), 347(1), 349 | The person to whom loss or injury is caused |
| Criminal intimidation; insult to provoke breach of peace; divine displeasure | 506, 504, 508 → 351(2), 351(3), 352, 354 | The person intimidated, insulted or induced |
| Defamation; printing or selling defamatory matter | 500, 501, 502 → 356(2), 356(3), 356(4) | The person defamed |
| Criminal breach of contract of service | 491 → 357 | The person with whom the offender has contracted |
| Adultery | 497 → no row | — |
Section 359(2) BNSS — permission of the court needed
| Offence | IPC → BNS | Compounded by |
|---|---|---|
| Insult to the modesty of a woman | 509 → 79 | The woman insulted or whose privacy was intruded upon |
| Marrying again during the life-time of a spouse | 494 → 82(1) | The husband or wife of the person so marrying |
| Causing miscarriage | 312 → 88 | The woman to whom miscarriage is caused |
| Grievous hurt; rash or negligent hurt and grievous hurt | 325, 337, 338 → 117(2), 125(a), 125(b) | The person to whom hurt is caused |
| Assault in attempting wrongful confinement | 357 → 135 | The person assaulted |
| Theft by clerk or servant; breach of trust; breach of trust by clerk or servant | 381, 406, 408 → 306, 316(2), 316(4) | The owner of the property |
| Cheating a person whose interest the offender must protect; cheating and inducing delivery | 418, 420 → 318(3), 318(4) | The person cheated |
| Defamation of the President, Vice-President, Governor, Administrator or a Minister on the Public Prosecutor's complaint | 500 → 356(2) | The person defamed |
How it works — the steps
- Check the table. Only offences in the two tables can be compounded (Section 359(9)). Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, Section 118(1) BNS, is in neither table, as Section 324 IPC has been in neither CrPC table since 31 December 2009.
- Identify who compounds. Column 3 names the person. For a child or person of unsound mind, a person competent to contract on his behalf may compound with the court's permission (Section 359(4)(a)); for a deceased victim, the legal representative under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, with the court's consent (Section 359(4)(b)).
- Permission. Table (2) offences need the permission of the court where the prosecution is pending. After committal, or while an appeal against conviction is pending, any composition needs the leave of the court of committal or appeal (Section 359(5)).
- Associated liability. Abetment, a punishable attempt, and liability through BNS 3(5) or 190 are compounded "in like manner" (Section 359(3)).
- Bar. No compounding if a previous conviction makes the accused liable to enhanced or different punishment (Section 359(7)).
- Effect. Composition operates as an acquittal (Section 359(8)). A High Court or Sessions Court in revision under Section 442 may also allow it (Section 359(6)).
What this means in practice
For the complainant or victim
- Compounding is the victim's act before the court, not the police's. Where several people are hurt, each compounds for his own injury; on a reading of the text, one victim's compromise does not compound the offence against another.
For the accused and defence advocate
- Where a compoundable offence is charged with a non-compoundable one (for example Sections 115(2) and 118(1) BNS), only the compoundable one can be compounded; the rest must be tried, withdrawn under Section 360 or quashed.
- For a non-compoundable offence, the route is a quashing petition under Section 528 BNSS (see Gian Singh and Naushey Ali below); a settlement may also bear on sentence, as Ram Lal shows.
Judgments that still matter
Ram Lal v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, Supreme Court, 25 January 1999. K.T. Thomas and M.B. Shah JJ. refused compounding of Section 326 IPC after a compromise, relying on Section 320(9): "Only such offences as are included in the said two Tables can be compounded and none else." Earlier contrary orders were per incuriam; an offence the law declares non-compoundable "even with the permission of the Court cannot be compounded at all". The sentence was reduced to the period undergone; the order has no paragraph numbers. It allowed compounding of Section 324 IPC, which the table then listed; the substituted table in force from 31 December 2009 (Act 5 of 2009) does not. Section 359(9) BNSS repeats Section 320(9).
Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, [2012] 8 S.C.R. 753 (2012 INSC 419) — 24 September 2012. A three-Judge Bench (R.M. Lodha, Anil R. Dave and Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya JJ.) held that quashing on settlement "is not the same thing as compounding of offence", and that in compounding the court's power is "circumscribed by the provisions contained in Section 320" (para 53). The two powers "are distinct and different although ultimate consequence may be same" (para 55). The High Court's inherent power is "distinct and different" from compounding, though heinous offences such as murder, rape and dacoity cannot fittingly be quashed on settlement (para 57). Sections 359 and 528 BNSS repeat the words of Sections 320 and 482 CrPC, so on a reading of the text the distinction carries over.
Suraj Singh Gujar v. State of Madhya Pradesh, [2024] 8 S.C.R. 782 (2024 INSC 661) — 30 August 2024. Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah JJ. recorded that Sections 323 and 325 IPC are compoundable but Section 324 is not (para 5), and that courts "cannot grant permission to compound the non-compoundable offences, on the basis of any sort of compromise between the parties", save the High Court under Section 482 CrPC and the Supreme Court under Article 142 (para 6). The conviction was set aside under Article 142 (para 7).
Naushey Ali v. State of Uttar Pradesh, [2025] 3 S.C.R. 289 (2025 INSC 182) — 11 February 2025. K.V. Viswanathan and S.V.N. Bhatti JJ. set aside a High Court order refusing to act on a settlement because Section 307 IPC was invoked; the High Court "has not appreciated the difference between compounding of an offence and quashment of proceedings" (para 6). Recording what Laxmi Narayan had held, the Court noted that the mere mention of Section 307 in the FIR or charge-sheet should not be the basis for a hands-off approach (para 12); the proceedings were quashed (para 23).
Which law applies to your case
Section 531(2)(a) BNSS continues any trial, inquiry or appeal pending immediately before 1 July 2024 under the CrPC "as if this Sanhita had not come into force"; on a reading of that text, compounding in such a case is under Section 320 CrPC and its IPC-numbered tables (the printed CrPC also carries a Madhya Pradesh amendment, Act 17 of 1999, adding rows to Table (2); the BNSS tables carry no State rows). Section 359 lists BNS sections only and does not say how it applies to an IPC offence in a case begun after 1 July 2024. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the BNSS equivalent of Section 320 CrPC? Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from 1 July 2024. It keeps the two tables, one for offences the victim may compound without the court's permission and one for offences needing the permission of the court where the prosecution is pending, and it keeps sub-sections (3) to (9) almost word for word.
Which offences can be compounded without the court's permission under Section 359 BNSS? The offences in the Table under Section 359(1) BNSS, including voluntarily causing hurt (BNS 115(2)), wrongful restraint and confinement (BNS 126(2), 127(2)), simple theft (BNS 303(2)), cheating (BNS 318(2)), criminal trespass and house-trespass (BNS 329(3) and (4)), criminal intimidation (BNS 351(2) and (3)) and defamation (BNS 356(2) to (4)). Each row names the person who may compound, usually the person harmed or the owner of the property.
Which offences need the court's permission to compound? The offences in the Table under Section 359(2) BNSS may be compounded only with the permission of the court before which the prosecution is pending. They include insult to the modesty of a woman (BNS 79), bigamy (BNS 82(1)), grievous hurt (BNS 117(2)), rash or negligent hurt (BNS 125(a) and (b)), theft by a clerk or servant (BNS 306), criminal breach of trust (BNS 316(2) and (4)) and cheating under BNS 318(3) and 318(4).
Did the BNSS make any offence newly compoundable? No. Every row in the Section 359 BNSS tables corresponds to a row in the Section 320 CrPC tables, and no offence moved from one table to the other. The adultery row (IPC 497) has no counterpart because the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita contains no adultery offence, and the two IPC animal-mischief rows (428 and 429) become one row for BNS 325.
What is the effect of compounding an offence? Section 359(8) BNSS says the composition of an offence has the effect of an acquittal of the accused with whom it has been compounded, as Section 320(8) CrPC did. Section 359(7) bars compounding where a previous conviction makes the accused liable to enhanced punishment or to a punishment of a different kind for the offence.
Can a non-compoundable offence be settled? Not under Section 359 BNSS, because Section 359(9) says no offence shall be compounded except as provided by the section. In Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012 INSC 419) the Supreme Court held that the High Court's inherent power to quash proceedings after a settlement is distinct from compounding (para 57); Section 528 BNSS repeats the words of Section 482 CrPC, so on a reading of the text that distinction carries over.
Who compounds the offence if the victim is a child or has died? Under Section 359(4)(a) BNSS, if the person competent to compound is a child or of unsound mind, any person competent to contract on his behalf may compound with the permission of the court. Under Section 359(4)(b), if that person is dead, the legal representative as defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 may compound with the consent of the court.
Which compounding provision applies to a case that began before 1 July 2024? Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that a trial, inquiry or appeal pending immediately before 1 July 2024 is continued under the Code of Criminal Procedure as if the BNSS had not come into force. On a reading of that text, compounding in such a case is governed by Section 320 CrPC and its tables, which list IPC sections.
Related
- Compromise in a criminal case — compounding under BNSS 359
- Section 482 CrPC vs Section 528 BNSS — inherent powers of the High Court
- Criminal breach of trust: IPC 406 vs BNS 316
- Cheating: IPC 415-420 vs BNS 318
- Hurt and grievous hurt: BNS 115-117 vs IPC 319-325
- CrPC to BNSS master table
- Sections 6–52A IPC vs Sections 2–3 BNS — General Explanations and Definitions
Sources
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 2(2), 358, 359, 360, 442, 528 and 531.
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (India Code text): Section 320 with its amendment footnotes (Act 5 of 2009) and the Madhya Pradesh amendment.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 2(3), 3(5), 118(1), 190, 325, 351 and 358.
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): headings of Sections 428 and 429.
- Judgments read in full text: Ram Lal v. State of Jammu and Kashmir (1999_1_230_232_EN.md); Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012_8_753_812_EN.md); Suraj Singh Gujar v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2024_8_782_787_EN.md); Naushey Ali v. State of U.P. (2025_3_289_302_EN.md).
This page explains the statutory text and the judgments cited as they stand. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.