Section 265I CrPC: Set Off of Detention Against Sentence in Plea Bargaining

Section 265I of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 formed part of Chapter XXIA on plea bargaining. It applied the set-off rule in Section 428 CrPC to a sentence of imprisonment imposed after disposal of a case under the plea bargaining chapter.

Legal position discussed on this page: CrPC framework applicable before the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024, and to matters preserved by the applicable savings provisions.

Text of Section 265I CrPC

Section 265I - Period of detention undergone by the accused to be set off against the sentence of imprisonment.
The provisions of section 428 shall apply, for setting off the period of detention undergone by the accused against the sentence of imprisonment imposed under this Chapter, in the same manner as they apply in respect of the imprisonment under other provisions of this Code.

Meaning and Scope of Section 265I

Section 265I ensured that an accused sentenced to imprisonment through the plea bargaining procedure received credit for qualifying detention already undergone in the same case. The provision did not create a separate method of calculation. Instead, it expressly made Section 428 CrPC applicable to imprisonment imposed under Chapter XXIA.

In practical terms, the Court was required to take into account the eligible period of pre-conviction detention in the same case and set it off against the term of imprisonment imposed under the plea bargaining chapter.

Section 428 CrPC: The Set-Off Rule

Section 428 CrPC dealt generally with credit for detention undergone by an accused during the investigation, inquiry or trial of the same case before conviction. Where a person was sentenced to imprisonment for a term, other than imprisonment in default of payment of fine, the qualifying detention was set off against that term. The person was then liable to undergo only the remainder, if any, of the sentence, subject to the statutory proviso concerning cases covered by Section 433A CrPC.

Key point: Section 265I connected plea bargaining sentences with the general set-off mechanism under Section 428. It therefore prevented the qualifying pre-conviction detention in the same case from being ignored merely because the sentence resulted from plea bargaining.

How Section 265I Operated in a Plea Bargaining Case

Chapter XXIA of the CrPC contained the statutory plea bargaining procedure. Once a case was disposed of under that Chapter and imprisonment was imposed, Section 265I required the Section 428 set-off principle to be applied. The relevant detention had to be detention in connection with the same case and had to satisfy the requirements of Section 428.

Section 265I should therefore be read together with the other provisions of Chapter XXIA, particularly the provisions governing disposal of the case, judgment, finality of judgment and the powers of the Court in plea bargaining.

CrPC Position Before BNSS

For the pre-BNSS statutory scheme, Section 265I was the specific plea bargaining provision and Section 428 supplied the substantive rule for set-off. The original page correctly reproduced the central rule that Section 428 applies to imprisonment imposed under the plea bargaining chapter. The official text of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 can be consulted on the India Code portal.

Corresponding Provision Under BNSS 2023

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. Under the BNSS, the corresponding plea bargaining provision is Section 297, while the general provision corresponding to Section 428 CrPC is Section 468 BNSS. Section 297 applies Section 468 to detention set-off for imprisonment imposed under the BNSS plea bargaining chapter.

Transition note: This page is maintained primarily as a reference to Section 265I CrPC and the law applicable under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 before implementation of the BNSS. For proceedings arising after the new law became operative, the relevant BNSS provisions and its savings or transitional provisions should be checked.

Summary

Section 265I CrPC made the benefit of Section 428 available when imprisonment was imposed through plea bargaining. Eligible detention already undergone in the same case was credited against the sentence, leaving only the balance term, if any, to be served in accordance with law.