Section 9 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
Section 9 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, addresses the limitation of punishment when an offence comprises multiple acts or parts, each of which may independently constitute an offence. This provision ensures that an individual is not subjected to excessive punishment for a single act that violates multiple legal provisions.
Key Provisions of Section 9
Single Punishment for Composite Offences: If an act constitutes an offence made up of several parts, each of which is itself an offence, the offender shall not be punished for more than one of such offences, unless expressly provided by law.
Punishment for Multiple Offences: If an act falls within two or more separate definitions of any law, or if several acts, each constituting an offence, together constitute a different offence, the offender shall not be punished with a more severe punishment than the court could award for any one of such offences.
Illustrations
Example 1: If an individual gives fifty strokes to another person, each stroke may independently constitute the offence of voluntarily causing hurt. However, the individual shall be punished only once for the entire act of beating, not for each stroke separately.
Example 2: If, during the act of beating one person, the individual also strikes another person, the individual shall be punished separately for each act of causing hurt.
This section aims to prevent disproportionate sentencing and ensure fairness in the judicial process.
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