plea bargaining
Indian plea bargaining, introduced in 2006 as Chapter XXIA CrPC and now in Chapter XXIII BNSS, is a sentence bargain under court supervision. The accused applies voluntarily; the court examines him in camera; a mutually satisfactory disposition is worked out with the prosecutor, the victim and, in police cases, the investigating officer, which may include compensation to the victim.
The court may then impose half the minimum punishment, or one-fourth of the punishment provided where there is no minimum. It is not available for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or more than seven years, offences affecting the socio-economic condition of the country, or offences against a woman or a child. The judgment is final, subject to writ and SLP.
Example
Charged with a cheating offence carrying up to seven years, the accused applied for plea bargaining and paid compensation to the victim.
In Indian law
- Chapter XXIII, ss.289 to 300 BNSS (old Chapter XXIA, ss.265A to 265L CrPC)
See also
compounding of offences · sentence · trial
Read more in the study notes
- Compounding of offences and plea bargaining (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
- Reform of justice delivery: legal aid, Lok Adalats, ADR, Gram Nyayalayas, PIL and plea bargaining (Law and Social Transformation in India)
- Criminal procedure: meaning, background and salient features of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
- Jurisdiction in inquiries and trials, evidence, and general provisions as to inquiries and trials (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
- Alternatives to imprisonment: probation, open prisons, parole and furlough (Penology and Victimology)
- Restitution and restorative justice (Penology and Victimology)