IPC Section 53A (Construction of reference to transportation) was not carried into the BNS
Indian Penal Code, 1860 · applies to offences and proceedings before 1 July 2024
NCRB's official correspondence table lists IPC 53A as deleted (page 23), and BPR&D's gives it no BNS counterpart. There is no provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 that replaces it.
IPC 53A: Construction of reference to transportation
Before 1 July 2024
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) and sub-section (3), any reference to “transportation for life” in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument or order having effect by virtue of any such law or of any enactment repealed shall be construed as a reference to “imprisonment for life”.
(2) In every case in which a sentence of transportation for a term has been passed before the commencement of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, [1955 (26 of 1955)], the offender shall be dealt with in the same manner as if sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for the same term.
(3) Any reference to transportation for a term or to transportation for any shorter term (by whatever name called) in any other law for the time being in force shall be deemed to have been omitted.
(4) Any reference to “transportation” in any other law for the time being in force shall,—
(a) if the expression means transportation for life, be construed as a reference to imprisonment for life;
(b) if the expression means transportation for any shorter term, be deemed to have been omitted.]
Which one applies
An offence is governed by the law in force when it was committed. An offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged and punished under the IPC; one committed on or after that date, under the BNS. Section 358 of the BNS, which repeals the IPC, preserves every liability and proceeding already incurred under it.
Read BNS section 358 →Judgments decided under IPC 53A
They still govern offences committed before 1 July 2024. With no BNS counterpart, they do not carry forward.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 23.
- The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860), 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.