Section 457 BNSS: Power to appoint place of imprisonment (Formerly Section 417 CrPC)

Section 457 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Power to appoint place of imprisonment

Official Bare Act Text

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

(1) Except when otherwise provided by any law for the time being in force, the State Government may direct in what place any person liable to be imprisoned or committed to custody under this Sanhita shall be confined.

(2) If any person liable to be imprisoned or committed to custody under this Sanhita is in confinement in a civil jail, the Court or Magistrate ordering the imprisonment or committal may direct that the person be removed to a criminal jail.

(3) When a person is removed to a criminal jail under sub-section (2), he shall, on being released therefrom, be sent back to the civil jail, unless either—

(a) three years have elapsed since he was removed to the criminal jail, in which case he shall be deemed to have been released from the civil jail under section 58 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; or

(b) the Court which ordered his imprisonment in the civil jail has certified to the officer in charge of the criminal jail that he is entitled to be released under section 58 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

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

Inquiry Sec 2(1)(g) Investigation Sec 2(1)(h) Victim Sec 2(1)(w)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 457

Section 457 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (corresponding to Section 417 of the CrPC, 1973) empowers the State Government to direct in what place and under what conditions any person liable to imprisonment shall be confined.

Executive Power over Prisons: The State Government may direct in what place and under what conditions any person liable to be imprisoned or committed to custody under this Sanhita shall be confined.
Inter-Jail Transfers: Authorizes administrative transfers of undertrials and convicts between central, district, and special prisons within the State.
Constitutional Constraints: Executive transfer powers are subject to fundamental rights under Article 21; punitive or vindictive transfers to distant jails without security justifications violate constitutional law.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, (1980) 3 SCC 488: The Supreme Court authoritatively held that executive prison powers under Section 417 CrPC are subject to judicial oversight; arbitrary transfer of prisoners far away from their families violates Article 21.
Prem Shankar Shukla v. Delhi Administration, (1980) 3 SCC 526: Affirmed that conditions of confinement must preserve basic human dignity.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

If prison authorities transfer an undertrial to a remote jail hundreds of kilometers away from their defense advocates and families, challenge the administrative order under Section 457 and Article 226 as punitive and violative of Sunil Batra.