BNSS Section 7: Territorial divisions (formerly CrPC 7)
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNSS 7: Territorial divisions
From 1 July 2024
(1) Every State shall be a sessions division or shall consist of sessions divisions; and every sessions divisions shall, for the purposes of this Sanhita, be a district or consist of districts.
(2) The State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, alter the limits or the number of such divisions and districts.
(3) The State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, divide any district into sub-divisions and may alter the limits or the number of such sub-divisions.
(4) The sessions divisions, districts and sub-divisions existing in a State at the commencement of this Sanhita, shall be deemed to have been formed under this section.
What it replaced in the CrPC
BNSS 7 ← CrPC 7 · Territorial divisionsChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: Proviso related to Metropolitan area, excluded.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
(1) Every State shall be a sessions division or shall consist of sessions divisions; and every sessions divisions shall, for the purposes of this Code, be a district or consist of districts:
Provided that every metropolitan area shall, for the said purposes, be a separate sessions division and district.
(2) The State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, alter the limits or the number of such divisions and districts.
(3) The State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, divide any district into sub-divisions and may alter the limits or the number of such sub-divisions.
(4) The sessions divisions, districts and sub-divisions existing in a State at the commencement of this Code, shall be deemed to have been formed under this section.
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 7
They remain the law on CrPC 7. 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 2.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 20.
- 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.