Section 25 BNSS - Sentence for Several Offences at One Trial

Meaning and Scope of Section 25 BNSS

Section 25 applies where a person is convicted at one trial of two or more offences. It enables the Court to impose the several punishments prescribed for those offences, so long as the Court is competent to impose them. The Court must then decide whether the punishments will operate at the same time or one after another.

The provision does not give an unrestricted power to accumulate punishment. It is expressly subject to Section 9 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and to the statutory ceilings in Section 25(2).

Section 25 - Statutory Text

Section 25 Is Subject to Section 9 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 25(1) expressly makes the Court's sentencing power subject to Section 9 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Section 9 deals with the limit of punishment where an offence is made up of parts that are themselves offences, where the same conduct falls within two or more offence definitions, or where several acts together constitute a different offence.

In broad terms, Section 9 prevents multiple punishment from being mechanically accumulated for overlapping aspects of the same criminal conduct unless the law expressly permits it. This safeguard must therefore be considered before separate punishments under Section 25 BNSS are ordered to run concurrently or consecutively.

Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences Under Section 25

A concurrent sentence runs at the same time as another sentence. A consecutive sentence begins after another sentence has been served. Section 25 requires the Court to choose between these modes after considering the gravity of the offences.

The statutory language therefore requires a judicial decision based on the circumstances and seriousness of the offences rather than an automatic assumption that all sentences must run in one particular manner.

Limits on Consecutive Sentences

Where the Court orders sentences to run consecutively, Section 25(2) imposes two express ceilings. First, the total period of imprisonment cannot exceed twenty years. Second, the aggregate punishment cannot exceed twice the amount of punishment that the Court is competent to impose for a single offence.

When Sending the Offender to a Higher Court Is Not Necessary

In the case of consecutive sentences, the Court need not send the offender for trial before a higher Court merely because the aggregate punishment for the several offences exceeds the punishment that the Court could impose for one offence. This rule operates subject to the twenty-year ceiling and the twice-the-maximum limitation.

Aggregate Consecutive Sentences Are Treated as One Sentence for Appeal

Section 25(3) provides that, for the purpose of an appeal by the convicted person, the aggregate of the consecutive sentences passed under Section 25 is deemed to be a single sentence. This rule determines how the combined sentencing order is treated for appellate purposes.

Section 25 at a Glance

Related BNSS Provisions

Section 25 follows Section 24 - Sentence of imprisonment in default of fine and is followed by Section 26 - Mode of conferring powers. The sentencing framework should also be read with Section 23 - Sentences which Magistrates may pass where the trial Court is a Magistrate.

Official Legal Resources

The current central text of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 can be verified through India Code. The Ministry of Home Affairs also publishes official material and the commencement notification relating to the new criminal laws.