Section 395 BNSS: Order to pay compensation (Formerly Section 357 CrPC)

Section 395 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Order to pay compensation

Official Bare Act Text

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

(1) When a Court imposes a sentence of fine or a sentence (including a sentence of death) of which fine forms a part, the Court may, when passing judgment, order the whole or any part of the fine recovered to be applied—

(a) in defraying the expenses properly incurred in the prosecution;

(b) in the payment to any person of compensation for any loss or injury caused by the offence, when compensation is, in the opinion of the Court, recoverable by such person in a Civil Court;

(c) when any person is convicted of any offence for having caused the death of another person or of having abetted the commission of such an offence, in paying compensation to the persons who are, under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, entitled to recover damages from the person sentenced for the loss resulting to them from such death;

(d) when any person is convicted of any offence which includes theft, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, or cheating, or of having dishonestly received or retained, or of having voluntarily assisted in disposing of, stolen property knowing or having reason to believe the same to be stolen, in compensating any bona fide purchaser of such property for the loss of the same if such property is restored to the possession of the person entitled thereto.

(2) If the fine is imposed in a case which is subject to appeal, no such payment shall be made before the period allowed for presenting the appeal has elapsed, or, if an appeal be presented, before the decision of the appeal.

(3) When a Court imposes a sentence, of which fine does not form a part, the Court may, when passing judgment, order the accused person to pay, by way of compensation, such amount as may be specified in the order to the person who has suffered any loss or injury by reason of the act for which the accused person has been so sentenced.

(4) An order under this section may also be made by an Appellate Court or by the High Court or Court of Session when exercising its powers of revision.

(5) At the time of awarding compensation in any subsequent civil suit relating to the same matter, the Court shall take into account any sum paid or recovered as compensation under this section.

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

Victim Sec 2(1)(w)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 395

Section 395 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 empowers criminal courts to order the payment of compensation to victims out of fines or as independent compensation.

Victim Compensation Framework: Section 395 authorizes the criminal court, upon passing a judgment of conviction, to order payment of expenses and compensation to victims out of fine amounts.
Compensation in Non-Fine Sentences: Under sub-section (3), even when the sentence imposed does not include a fine, the Court may independently direct the accused to pay specified compensation to the victim for injury or loss.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Ankush Shivaji Gaikwad v. High Court of Bombay (2013) 6 SCC 770: The Supreme Court held that it is mandatory for every criminal court to consider and apply its mind to the question of awarding compensation under Section 357 CrPC (Sec 395 BNSS) in every judgment of conviction; failure to record reasons for not awarding compensation is an error of law.
Hari Singh v. Sukhbir Singh (1988) 4 SCC 551: Affirmed that the power to award compensation under this section is a step forward in our criminal justice system to reassure victims that they are not forgotten.

Legal Commentary:

Section 395 institutionalizes victim compensation within the sentencing framework. Trial judges must evaluate the financial capacity of the convict and the gravity of victim loss, recording explicit reasons whenever compensation is awarded or declined.