IPC 73 vs BNS 73
● Retained in BNSSolitary confinement
Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, provides the legal framework for awarding solitary confinement as part of imprisonment. It allows courts to direct that a convicted person may be kept in solitary confinement for a specified period, but only within limits prescribed by law.
The section states that solitary confinement can only be ordered when the law allows imprisonment as punishment. It further provides that such confinement must be limited:
-
It cannot exceed one month in total.
-
If the term of imprisonment exceeds 6 months, solitary confinement may be up to 2 months.
-
If imprisonment exceeds 1 year, solitary confinement may be up to 3 months.
The provision reflects a balance between deterrence and humanity. While solitary confinement is considered a stricter form of punishment meant to reinforce discipline, its duration is capped to prevent excessive cruelty.
Thus, IPC 73 makes solitary confinement a regulated punishment, ensuring it is used only under strict conditions and for limited periods.
Solitary confinement
Section 73 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, retains the same principle as IPC 73 regarding solitary confinement. It empowers courts to direct that offenders undergoing imprisonment may be kept in solitary confinement for certain periods, but again, subject to legal restrictions.
The limits are preserved in BNS 73, ensuring solitary confinement does not exceed:
-
1 month in total,
-
2 months when imprisonment is more than 6 months,
-
3 months when imprisonment exceeds 1 year.
This continuity shows that lawmakers considered the existing balance under IPC 73 as fair and adequate. Solitary confinement continues to be recognized as an exceptional punishment to enforce strict discipline but not as a tool of cruelty.
By retaining the same limits, BNS 73 ensures that human dignity is protected, while courts still have discretion to impose solitary confinement in serious cases.
Thus, BNS 73 is essentially identical to IPC 73, with only minor language modernization.
What changed?
This provision was carried over to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita with substantially the same wording — the section was renumbered from IPC IPC 73 to BNS BNS 73.