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Section 344 BNSS: Power to Direct Tender of Pardon

Section 344 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 empowers the court to which a case has been committed to tender pardon to a person connected with the offence when the court seeks that person's evidence at the trial. The power is available after commitment of the case and before judgment is passed.

Section 344 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

344. Power to direct tender of pardon.

At any time after commitment of a case but before judgment is passed, the Court to which the commitment is made may, with a view to obtaining at the trial the evidence of any person supposed to have been directly or indirectly concerned in, or privy to, any such offence, tender a pardon on the same condition to such person.

Meaning and Scope of Section 344 BNSS

Section 344 deals with a tender of pardon by the court after a case has already been committed for trial. Its purpose is evidentiary: the court may obtain testimony from a person who is believed to have been directly or indirectly concerned in, or privy to, the offence.

The provision is therefore distinct from a general power to excuse criminal liability. The pardon is linked to the statutory condition governing the tender and is intended to secure truthful evidence for the trial.

Essential Conditions Under Section 344

  • The case must already have been committed to the court.
  • The judgment must not yet have been passed.
  • The person to whom pardon is offered must be supposed to have been directly or indirectly concerned in, or privy to, the offence.
  • The object of the tender must be to obtain that person's evidence at the trial.
  • The pardon is tendered on the same statutory condition applicable to the pardon mechanism under the preceding provision.

Relationship With Sections 343 and 345 BNSS

Section 343 BNSS deals with tender of pardon to an accomplice at the stages specified in that provision. Section 344 specifically authorizes the court to which the case has been committed to tender pardon after commitment and before judgment.

Section 345 addresses the consequences where a person who has accepted pardon under Section 343 or Section 344 does not comply with the condition of the pardon. These provisions should therefore be read together when considering the legal effect of a tender and acceptance of pardon.

Commencement: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on July 1, 2024, subject to the exception specified in the Central Government notification dated February 23, 2024.

Official Text and Reference

For authoritative statutory text, see the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code and the Ministry of Home Affairs New Criminal Laws page.

This page provides a general explanation of Section 344 BNSS. For a particular criminal proceeding, the provision should be read with the complete BNSS, applicable rules, notifications and binding judicial decisions.