Section 290 BNSS: Application for plea bargaining (Formerly Section 265B CrPC)

Section 290 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Application for plea bargaining

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) A person accused of an offence may file an application for plea bargaining within a period of thirty days from the date of framing of charge in the Court in which such offence is pending for trial.

(2) The application under sub-section (1) shall contain a brief description of the case relating to which the application is filed including the offence to which the case relates and shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn by the accused stating therein that he has voluntarily preferred, after understanding the nature and extent of punishment provided under the law for the offence, the plea bargaining in his case and that he has not previously been convicted by a Court in which he had been charged with the same offence.

(3) After receiving the application under sub-section (1), the Court shall issue notice to the Public Prosecutor or the complainant of the case and to the accused to appear on the date fixed for the case.

(4) When the Public Prosecutor or the complainant of the case and the accused appear on the date fixed under sub-section (3), the Court shall examine the accused in camera, where the other party in the case shall not be present, to satisfy itself that the accused has filed the application voluntarily and where—

(a) the Court is satisfied that the application has been filed by the accused voluntarily, it shall provide time, not exceeding sixty days, to the Public Prosecutor or the complainant of the case and the accused to work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case which may include giving to the victim by the accused the compensation and other expenses during the case and thereafter fix the date for further hearing of the case;

(b) the Court finds that the application has been filed involuntarily by the accused or he has previously been convicted by a Court in a case in which he had been charged with the same offence, it shall proceed further in accordance with the provisions of this Sanhita from the stage such application has been filed under sub-section (1).

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Charge Sec 2(1)(b)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 290

Section 290 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 prescribes the procedure for filing an application for plea bargaining and mandates in-camera judicial examination.

Inquiry & Trial Mechanism: Section 290 provides that a person accused of an offence may file an application for plea bargaining in the Court in which such offence is pending for trial.
Statutory Relief & Application: The application must contain a brief description of the case and an affidavit by the accused stating that it is filed voluntarily and that they have not been previously convicted of the same offence.
Sub-Section (2): Public: Under sub-section (2), the Court issues notice to the Public Prosecutor or complainant.

Sub-section (4) enacts a vital procedural safeguard: the Court shall examine the accused in camera, in the absence of the other party, to satisfy itself that the application has been made voluntarily without police coercion.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Thippaswamy v. State of Karnataka (1983) 1 SCC 194: The Supreme Court emphasized that an accused's plea must be completely voluntary, uncoerced, and free from inducement; the in-camera examination by the judge is an essential constitutional check.
State of M.P. v. Deepak (2019) 13 SCC 62: Reiterated that the court must independently verify that the accused comprehends the consequences of the plea before permitting the process to advance.

Legal Commentary:

Section 290 ensures that plea bargaining is an informed, voluntary decision by the accused. The in-camera examination protects the accused from investigator intimidation; if the Court finds that the plea was induced or coerced, it must immediately reject the application and resume regular trial.