Sections 374–376 CrPC vs Sections 415–417 BNSS — Appeals from Convictions, Guilty Pleas and Petty Cases

In India, Sections 415 to 417 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced Sections 374 to 376 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) from 1 July 2024. The appeal routes are unchanged, but a High Court sentence is now unappealable only up to three months' imprisonment (Section 417(a)), not six months.

At a glance

These sections create no offence, so no First Schedule classification applies. The appeal against acquittal and the victim's appeal (CrPC 372, 378; BNSS 413, 419) have their own page.

What changed

• Identical — Section 415(1) (CrPC 374(1)).
• Minor edit — Section 415(2) (CrPC 374(2)): "any other court" becomes "any other Court". The words "has been passed against him or against any other person convicted at the same trial" (substituted in the CrPC by Act 45 of 1978) are retained, and the threshold stays at "more than seven years".
• Minor edit — Section 415(3) (CrPC 374(3)): clause (a) reads "convicted on a trial held by Magistrate of the first class, or of the second class" — "a Metropolitan Magistrate or Assistant Sessions Judge" is dropped. Neither "Metropolitan" nor "Assistant Sessions" appears in the BNSS text. Clause (b) refers to Section 364 BNSS (a Magistrate who cannot pass a sufficiently severe sentence) for Section 325 CrPC; clause (c) refers to Section 401 BNSS (probation or admonition) for Section 360 CrPC. The Assam amendment to Section 374(3)(a) CrPC, which added "Executive Magistrate", has no BNSS counterpart.
• Minor edit — Section 415(4) (CrPC 374(4)): the six-month disposal rule now applies to sentences under "section 64, section 65, section 66, section 67, section 68, section 70 or section 71" of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in place of IPC Sections 376, 376A, 376AB, 376B, 376C, 376D, 376DA, 376DB and 376E. Section 69 BNS (sexual intercourse by deceitful means) is not listed. The period — "within a period of six months from the date of filing of such appeal" — is unchanged.
• Minor edit — Section 416 (CrPC 375): "Notwithstanding anything contained in section 374" becomes "Notwithstanding anything in section 415"; clauses (a)–(b) become (i)–(ii); "Court of Session, Metropolitan Magistrate or Magistrate of the first or second class" becomes "Court of Session or Magistrate of the first or second class".
• Modified — Section 417(a) (CrPC 376(a)): "where a High Court passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months" becomes "not exceeding three months". The fine limit of one thousand rupees is unchanged.
• Minor edit — rest of Section 417: the opening words drop "contained" and refer to Section 415; clause (b) drops "or a Metropolitan Magistrate"; clause (d) refers to Section 283 BNSS (power to try summarily) for Section 260 CrPC; the proviso reads "against any such sentence" for "against such sentence". The money limits in (b), (c) and (d) and the three grounds in the proviso are unchanged.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 376(a) CrPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

(a) where a High Court passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or of fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or of both such imprisonment and fine;

Extract, Section 417 BNSS, opening words and clause (a):

Notwithstanding anything in section 415, there shall be no appeal by a convicted person in any of the following cases, namely:—

(a) where a High Court passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or of fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or of both such imprisonment and fine;

Extract, Section 416 BNSS, clause (ii):

(ii) if the conviction is by a Court of Session or Magistrate of the first or second class, except as to the extent or legality of the sentence.

How it works — which court hears the appeal

1. Starting point (Section 413): "No appeal shall lie from any judgment or order of a Criminal Court except as provided for by this Sanhita or by any other law for the time being in force." Section 415 is one such provision.
2. Identify the trial court and sentence (Section 415):
   • High Court, extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction → Supreme Court (415(1)).
   • Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge, or any other Court where more than seven years has been passed on the appellant or a co-accused at the same trial → High Court (415(2)).
   • Otherwise, a Magistrate of the first or second class, a sentence under Section 364, or an order or sentence under Section 401 by a Magistrate → Court of Session (415(3)).
3. Check the bars: a conviction on a plea of guilty (Section 416) or a petty sentence (Section 417). Both open with "Notwithstanding anything in section 415".
4. Check the proviso to Section 417: an appeal lies "if any other punishment is combined with" the petty sentence, but not merely because the person is ordered to furnish security to keep the peace, a default term is included, or more than one fine is passed where the total stays within the limit.
5. Rape-sentence appeals (Section 415(4)): once filed, disposal within six months.

Worked example (a reading of the text): a High Court convicts in its extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction and imposes four months' imprisonment alone. Under Section 376(a) CrPC no appeal lay (six months or less); under Section 417(a) BNSS the bar covers only three months or less, so the appeal under Section 415(1) is not barred.

What this means in practice

For the convicted person and defence advocate

• Identify the court that conducted the trial. In Vishnu Kumar Gupta (below), a first conviction recorded by a Sessions Court in appeal was not a conviction "on a trial held by" it; the remedy was revision under Sections 438 and 442 BNSS, not appeal.
• A plea of guilty does not end all review: before a Court of Session or Magistrate, an appeal still lies "as to the extent or legality of the sentence" (Section 416(ii)).
• A plea-bargaining judgment is governed separately: Section 295 BNSS (Section 265G CrPC) makes it final, with no appeal except a special leave petition under Article 136 or a writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 — see the plea-bargaining page.

For the victim

• In rape-sentence appeals, Section 415(4) gives a six-month disposal period from filing. The victim's own appeal against acquittal, a lesser conviction or inadequate compensation lies under the proviso to Section 413.

For the State

• An appeal against sentence on the ground of inadequacy is under Section 418 BNSS (CrPC 377), not Section 415.

Judgments that still matter

Madhav Hayawadanrao Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra, [1979] 1 S.C.R. 192 (1978 INSC 137) — 17 August 1978. V.R. Krishna Iyer, D.A. Desai and O. Chinnappa Reddy JJ. (order of the Court by Krishna Iyer J.) condoned the delay but dismissed the special leave petition. The Court stated that "at least a single right of appeal on facts, where criminal conviction is fraught with long loss of liberty is basic to civilised jurisprudence", and that a first appeal from the Sessions Court to the High Court "manifests this value upheld in Art. 21" (report p. 203). It declared that courts shall furnish a free transcript of the judgment when sentencing a person to prison, and that the court shall assign counsel to a prisoner disabled from engaging one where the ends of justice require (report p. 209). On a reading of the text, these obligations bear equally on the appeal Section 415 BNSS provides and on the free copy in Section 404 BNSS.

Dilip S. Dahanukar v. Kotak Mahindra Co. Ltd. & Anr., [2007] 4 S.C.R. 1122 (2007 INSC 404) — 10 April 2007. S.B. Sinha and Dalveer Bhandari JJ. considered an appellate court's order, made while admitting an appeal against a cheque-bounce conviction, requiring deposit of five lakh rupees each. The Court stated that "An appeal is indisputably a statutory right" under Section 374 and that a right of appeal from a conviction affecting liberty, given the expansive definition of Article 21, "is also a Fundamental Right" which "can neither be interfered with or impaired, nor it can be subjected to any condition" (para 12). It also noted, relying on an earlier decision of the Court, that the court's power to suspend sentence cannot be taken away (para 24). The deposit was reduced to one lakh rupees and the appeals were allowed to that extent (paras 71–72).

Vishnu Kumar Gupta v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr., 2026 INSC 770 — 30 July 2026. Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B. Varale JJ. dismissed an appeal against a Madhya Pradesh High Court order holding a criminal appeal not maintainable. The appellant, acquitted by the trial court, had been convicted by the Sessions Court in appeal. The Court held that the expression "on a trial held by" in Section 374 "necessarily refers to the Court which has itself conducted the trial" (para 39) and overruled the Himachal Pradesh High Court's view in Arun Sharma (para 39). It answered the question in the negative for Section 374 CrPC "corresponding to Section 415" BNSS, holding that the only remedy is revision under Sections 397 and 401 CrPC, corresponding to Sections 438 and 442 BNSS (para 61). It said such a further appeal may be desirable as policy but the statute has not created it (para 32). Liberty was given to file a revision (para 63).

Section 415 repeats the words "on a trial held by" in each sub-section, so on a reading of the text these holdings bear on the BNSS provision; Vishnu Kumar Gupta itself states the correspondence.

Which law applies to your case

Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that an appeal pending immediately before 1 July 2024 is to be disposed of in accordance with the CrPC "as if this Sanhita had not come into force". For an appeal filed after that date from a trial conducted under the CrPC, the provision does not answer the question in terms; any view is a reading of the text. The difference matters for a High Court sentence of more than three and up to six months. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNSS equivalent of Section 374 CrPC? Section 415 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 374 CrPC. A conviction by a High Court in its extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction goes to the Supreme Court; a conviction by a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge, or by any other Court passing a sentence of more than seven years, goes to the High Court; a conviction by a Magistrate of the first or second class goes to the Court of Session.

What changed in the rule on no appeal in petty cases? Section 417(a) BNSS bars an appeal where a High Court passes only a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding three months, or fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or both. Section 376(a) CrPC used six months. The limits for the Court of Session (three months or two hundred rupees), a Magistrate of the first class (fine up to one hundred rupees) and a summary trial under Section 283 (fine up to two hundred rupees) are unchanged.

Can I appeal if I pleaded guilty? Only in limited cases. Under Section 416 BNSS there is no appeal from a conviction on a plea of guilty by a High Court, and from a conviction on such a plea by a Court of Session or a Magistrate of the first or second class an appeal lies only as to the extent or legality of the sentence. Section 375 CrPC was the same, except that it also named the Metropolitan Magistrate.

Is there a time limit for deciding an appeal in a rape case? Yes. Section 415(4) BNSS requires an appeal against a sentence under Sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70 or 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 to be disposed of within six months from the date of filing. Section 374(4) CrPC, inserted in 2018, listed Sections 376 to 376E of the Indian Penal Code. Section 69 BNS, sexual intercourse by deceitful means, is not in the list.

Can a person convicted for the first time by a Sessions Court in appeal file a further appeal to the High Court? No. In Vishnu Kumar Gupta v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2026 INSC 770) the Supreme Court held that an appeal under Section 374 CrPC, corresponding to Section 415 BNSS, lies only against a conviction on a trial held by the court that conducted the trial. Against a Sessions Court's appellate conviction reversing an acquittal, the remedy is revision under Sections 438 and 442 BNSS.

Is the right of appeal against a conviction a fundamental right? In Dilip S. Dahanukar v. Kotak Mahindra (2007) the Supreme Court said that an appeal is a statutory right under Section 374 CrPC and that a right of appeal from a conviction affecting liberty is, given the expansive reading of Article 21, also a fundamental right that cannot be subjected to any condition (para 12). Section 415 BNSS now provides that statutory right.

Which law governs an appeal in a case decided under the CrPC? Section 531(2)(a) BNSS provides that an appeal pending immediately before 1 July 2024 is disposed of in accordance with the CrPC as if the BNSS had not come into force. Whether an appeal filed after that date against a CrPC-era trial is governed by the CrPC or the BNSS is not stated in those words, so any answer is a reading of the text.

Related

• Appeal against acquittal: CrPC 372, 378 vs BNSS 413, 419
• The judgment: CrPC 353–365 vs BNSS 392–406
• Revision: CrPC 397–401 vs BNSS 438–442
• Suspension of sentence pending appeal: CrPC 389 vs BNSS 430
• Victim's appeal against acquittal — scenario
• CrPC to BNSS master table

Sources

• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 283, 295, 364, 413 to 418 and 531.
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 64 to 71.
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (India Code text): Sections 260, 265G, 325 and 372 to 377, with the amendment footnotes to Section 374 and the Assam amendment.
• Judgments read in full text: Madhav Hayawadanrao Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra (1979_1_192_209_EN.md); Dilip S. Dahanukar v. Kotak Mahindra Co. Ltd. (2007_4_1122_1154_EN.md); Vishnu Kumar Gupta v. State of Madhya Pradesh (Diary_45914-2025_Judgment.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.