BNSS Section 456: Commutation of sentence of death on pregnant woman (formerly CrPC 416)
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNSS 456: Commutation of sentence of death on pregnant woman
From 1 July 2024
If a woman sentenced to death is found to be pregnant, the High Court shall commute the sentence to imprisonment for life.
What it replaced in the CrPC
BNSS 456 ← CrPC 416 · Postponement of capital sentence on pregnant womanChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: The heading "Commutation of sentence of death on pregnant woman" replaces the heading "Postponement of capital sentence on pregnant woman".
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
If a woman sentenced to death is found to be pregnant, the High Court shall [****], commute the sentence to imprisonment for life.
B.—Imprisonment
Which one applies
Procedure follows the proceeding. Under section 531(2)(a) of the BNSS, an appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation already pending on 1 July 2024 continues under the CrPC; one begun on or after that date proceeds under the BNSS.
Read BNSS section 531 →Judgments decided under CrPC 416
They remain the law on CrPC 416. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 34.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 41.
- The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.