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Section 12: Limit of solitary confinement

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita • Chapter II: Of Punishments • Official Statutory Text & Legal Guide

Chapter II: Of Punishments
Trial Court
Non-Applicable
Non-Applicable
Formerly Sec 72 IPC
Section 11 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 13

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 12

Section 12 lays down the mandatory limit of solitary confinement in execution, establishing that in executing a sentence of solitary confinement, such confinement shall in no case exceed fourteen days at a time, with equal intervals between periods.

  • Fourteen-Day Execution Cap: Solitary confinement cannot be administered continuously for more than 14 days at a time.
  • Mandatory Equal Break Intervals: Must be followed by intervals of non-solitary confinement of not less than the period of solitary confinement.
  • Seven-Day Cap for Longer Sentences: When the imprisonment awarded exceeds three months, solitary confinement shall not exceed seven days in any one month of the whole imprisonment awarded, with equal intervals.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration (1978) 4 SCC 494: The Supreme Court affirmed that the limits prescribed under Section 74 IPC (Section 12 BNS) are absolute and mandatory; prison administrators violating these caps commit actionable torts against prisoner rights.
  • State of Maharashtra v. Prabhakar Pandurang Sanzgiri (AIR 1966 SC 424): Affirmed that incarceration does not strip a prisoner of fundamental rights, and penal restrictions must track statutory limits strictly.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In habeas corpus or jail inspection petitions, verify prison punishment registers against Section 12 BNS: any continuous solitary detention exceeding 14 days or failing to provide equal break intervals warrants immediate judicial intervention.

Section 11 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 13