Section 53 IPC vs Section 4 BNS — Punishments

In India, Section 4 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) from 1 July 2024. It keeps the five IPC punishments — death, imprisonment for life, rigorous or simple imprisonment, forfeiture of property and fine — and adds a sixth: community service.

At a glance

Section 4 lists punishments; it creates no offence, so the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) does not classify it.

What changed

• New — community service (BNS 4(f)): "Community Service" is added as the sixth punishment. The Explanation to Section 23 BNSS defines it: "the work which the Court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community, for which he shall not be entitled to any remuneration". The offences that carry it, the courts that may impose it and default imprisonment are covered on the community service guide.
• Minor edit — form of the list: the IPC's ordinal headings ("First,—Death", "Secondly.—Imprisonment for life", "Fourthly.—Imprisonment …", "Fifthly.—Forfeiture of property", "Sixthly.—Fine") become clauses (a) to (e). "Under the provisions of this Code" becomes "under the provisions of this Sanhita".
• Minor edit — the missing "Thirdly": Section 53 IPC skipped from "Secondly" to "Fourthly" because "Thirdly,—Penal servitude" was omitted by Act 17 of 1949 with effect from 6 April 1949. The BNS list has no gap.
• Identical — the five surviving punishments: death; imprisonment for life; imprisonment of two descriptions, "Rigorous, that is, with hard labour" and "Simple"; forfeiture of property; and fine. The words describing each are the same.
• Omitted — Section 53A IPC: inserted in 1955 when "imprisonment for life" replaced "transportation", it construed references to "transportation for life" in other laws as "imprisonment for life", treated pre-1955 sentences of transportation for a term as rigorous imprisonment for the same term, and deemed references to shorter transportation omitted. The BNS has no counterpart.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 53 IPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are— First,—Death; Secondly.—Imprisonment for life; ... Fourthly.—Imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely:— (1) Rigorous, that is, with hard labour; (2) Simple; Fifthly.—Forfeiture of property; Sixthly.—Fine.

Extract, Section 4 BNS:

The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Sanhita are— (a) Death; (b) Imprisonment for life; (c) Imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely:— (1) Rigorous, that is, with hard labour; (2) Simple; (d) Forfeiture of property; (e) Fine; (f) Community Service.

How it works — the six punishments

Section 4 is a menu, not a sentencing rule. A court may impose a punishment only if the offence section provides for it; Section 4 says what the kinds of punishment are.

(a) Death. Available only where an offence section provides it. Under Section 5 BNS the appropriate Government may commute any punishment "in accordance with section 474" BNSS, and Section 474(a) BNSS allows a death sentence to be commuted to imprisonment for life. Section 475 BNSS bars release, before fourteen years of imprisonment, of a person whose death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. See the mercy petition and commutation guide.

(b) Imprisonment for life. Section 4 does not define it. Several BNS offence sections now say expressly "imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life"; the phrase occurs 11 times in the Gazette text. Section 6 BNS reckons life imprisonment as equivalent to twenty years "in calculating fractions of terms of punishment", now "unless otherwise provided" — words Section 57 IPC did not have. Section 474(b) BNSS allows commutation of a life sentence to a term "not less than seven years", and Section 475 bars release before fourteen years where death was one of the punishments for the offence.

(c) Imprisonment — rigorous or simple. Rigorous imprisonment is "with hard labour". Where an offence is punishable with imprisonment "of either description", Section 7 BNS (repeating Section 60 IPC) lets the sentencing Court direct that it be wholly rigorous, wholly simple, or partly each. Some sections fix the description themselves (for example, "simple imprisonment" in Section 355 BNS).

(d) Forfeiture of property. Available only where a section provides it — for example Section 153 BNS (depredation on the territories of a foreign State at peace with the Government of India: forfeiture of property used or intended to be used, or acquired) and Section 154 BNS (receiving property taken by such war or depredation: forfeiture of the property so received). The general "sentence of forfeiture of property" in Section 61 IPC had been repealed in 1921.

(e) Fine. Section 8(1) BNS repeats Section 63 IPC: where no maximum is stated, the fine "is unlimited, but shall not be excessive". Section 8(2) onwards governs imprisonment in default of payment.

(f) Community service. Available only for the offences that provide for it, and within the sentencing powers in Section 23 BNSS. See the community service guide.

What this means in practice

For the sentencing court and prosecutor

• Check the offence section, not Section 4, for what may be imposed. Community service, for example, is available only in the provisions that name it.
• Where an offence section says "imprisonment of either description", the sentence should state whether it is rigorous, simple or partly each (Section 7 BNS).
• For life imprisonment, check whether the offence section uses the "remainder of that person's natural life" formula; where it does, the text itself fixes what the sentence means.

For the accused and defence advocate

• A sentence of fine only is still "punishment" within Section 4(e) BNS, and the Supreme Court has held that a person sentenced only to fine may be given the benefit of Section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 (Milind S/o Ashruba Dhanve, below).
• A life convict's release depends on commutation or remission by the appropriate Government (Section 5 BNS; Sections 473 to 475 BNSS), not on the twenty-year figure in Section 6 BNS (see Godse and Naib Singh below, decided under the equivalent IPC and CrPC provisions).

For the convict's family

• Earned prison remissions do not by themselves end a life sentence; release follows an order of the appropriate Government (Godse; Naib Singh).

Judgments that still matter

Gopal Vinayak Godse v. The State of Maharashtra and Others, [1961] 3 S.C.R. 440 — 12 January 1961. A five-Judge Bench (P.B. Gajendragadkar, A.K. Sarkar, K. Subba Rao, K.N. Wanchoo and J.R. Mudholkar JJ.; judgment by Subba Rao J.) dismissed a habeas corpus petition by a convict sentenced in 1949 to transportation for life, whose imprisonment plus earned remissions exceeded twenty years. The Court held that Section 57 IPC applies only to calculating fractions of terms, and that "A sentence of transportation for life or imprisonment for life must prima facie be treated as transportation or imprisonment for the whole of the remaining period of the convicted person's natural life." Remissions under prison rules count only for their limited purpose; without commutation or remission by the appropriate authority, the convict "is bound in law to serve the life term in prison". The report shows no paragraph numbers. Section 6 BNS repeats the fractions rule of Section 57 IPC (adding "unless otherwise provided"), so, on a reading of the text, the reasoning bears on it.

Naib Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors., [1983] 2 S.C.R. 770 (1983 INSC 41) — 19 April 1983. V.D. Tulzapurkar and R.B. Misra JJ. (judgment by Tulzapurkar J.) dismissed the habeas corpus petition of a prisoner whose death sentence had been commuted to life imprisonment and who claimed release after more than fourteen years including remissions. The Court held that a life sentence is executable in jails within the country and that "the sentence of imprisonment for life has to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life", relying on Pandit Kishori Lal, Godse and, "by necessary implication", on Section 53A(2) IPC. Without an order of commutation under Section 55 IPC or Section 433(b) CrPC, the petitioner was not entitled to release. The body of the report shows no paragraph numbers. Section 53A has no BNS counterpart; whether the same conclusion follows under Section 4(b) BNS is a question no judgment read for this page decides.

Milind S/o Ashruba Dhanve & Ors. v. The State of Maharashtra, [2026] 4 S.C.R. 565 (2026 INSC 355) — 10 April 2026. J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar JJ. considered whether appellants sentenced only to fine for offences under Sections 323 and 324 read with Section 34 IPC could have the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958. Setting Section 53 IPC beside Section 4 BNS (para 22), the Court said that "Section 53 of IPC has been adopted as it is in Section 4 of BNS while also adding another punishment in nature of community service" (para 23), and held that "punishment" in the 1958 Act is to be construed by that enumeration and includes fine (paras 24-25). Confirming the convictions, it directed release on probation under Section 4(1) of the 1958 Act for three appellants and release after admonition under Section 3 for the fourth, directed that the fines be deposited and treated as compensation to the victims, and disposed of the appeal (paras 42-46). The table in para 22 attributes the omission of "Thirdly" to Act 26 of 1955; the official IPC text records its omission by Act 17 of 1949.

Which law applies to your case

Section 358(2) BNS keeps alive any penalty or punishment incurred under the IPC and allows proceedings to be instituted, continued or enforced, and "any such penalty may be imposed", "as if that Code had not been repealed". On a reading of that provision, sentencing for an offence committed before 1 July 2024 follows the IPC, whose Section 53 does not list community service. Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars a penalty "greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence". See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNS equivalent of Section 53 IPC? Section 4 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 53 IPC. It lists the punishments to which offenders are liable as (a) death, (b) imprisonment for life, (c) imprisonment, rigorous or simple, (d) forfeiture of property, (e) fine and (f) community service.

What new punishment does the BNS add? Section 4(f) BNS adds community service. The Explanation to Section 23 BNSS defines it as work which the Court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community, for which he is not entitled to any remuneration. It is available only where the offence section provides for it.

Which offences are punishable with community service under the BNS? Community service appears as a punishment in Sections 202, 209, 226, 303(2) (proviso), 355 and 356(2) BNS. Section 8(4) and (5) BNS also provide for imprisonment in default of community service. The details are on the community service guide.

Does imprisonment for life mean imprisonment for the rest of one's life? In Gopal Vinayak Godse v. State of Maharashtra (1961), the Supreme Court held that a sentence of imprisonment for life must prima facie be treated as imprisonment for the whole of the remaining period of the convict's natural life, unless commuted or remitted. Several BNS provisions now say so expressly, using the words 'which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life'.

Is life imprisonment rigorous or simple? Section 4(b) BNS, like 'Secondly' in Section 53 IPC, does not say. In Naib Singh v. State of Punjab (1983), the Supreme Court held that imprisonment for life under the IPC has to be equated with rigorous imprisonment for life, relying in part on Section 53A(2) IPC. Section 53A has no BNS counterpart, and no judgment deciding the point under the BNS was read for this page.

Is twenty years the same as a life sentence under the BNS? Only for calculating fractions of terms of punishment. Section 6 BNS reckons imprisonment for life as equivalent to twenty years 'unless otherwise provided'; Section 57 IPC did the same without those words. Godse held that the fractions rule does not convert a life sentence into a fixed term for all purposes.

Can a court choose between rigorous and simple imprisonment? Yes. Section 4(c) BNS keeps the two descriptions of imprisonment, rigorous (with hard labour) and simple. Under Section 7 BNS, which repeats Section 60 IPC, where an offence is punishable with imprisonment of either description, the sentencing Court may direct that it be wholly rigorous, wholly simple, or partly rigorous and partly simple.

Can community service be imposed for an offence committed before 1 July 2024? Section 358(2) BNS keeps proceedings for offences committed before 1 July 2024 under the IPC, whose Section 53 does not list community service. Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars a penalty greater than that under the law in force when the offence was committed. Whether a court may impose community service for pre-1 July 2024 conduct is not settled by any judgment read for this page.

Related

• IPC to BNS master comparison table
• Community service — the new punishment under the BNS
• Mercy petitions and commutation — old vs new
• Sections 6–52A IPC vs Sections 2–3 BNS — General Explanations and Definitions
• Section 302 IPC vs Section 103 BNS — Murder
• Offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies
• Sections 432–435 CrPC vs Sections 473–477 BNSS — Suspension, Remission and Commutation of Sentences

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 4 to 8, 153, 154 and 358; the community-service offence sections.
• Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Sections 53, 53A, 54 to 57, 60, 61 and 63 with amendment footnotes.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 23, 474 and 475.
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
• Judgments read in full text: Gopal Vinayak Godse v. State of Maharashtra (1961_3_440_448_EN.md); Naib Singh v. State of Punjab (1983_2_770_790_EN.md); Milind S/o Ashruba Dhanve v. State of Maharashtra (2026_4_565_592_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.