CHAPTER II OF PUNISHMENTS

Section 11: Solitary confinement

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Whenever any person is convicted of an offence for which under this Sanhita the Court has power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, the Court may, by its sentence, order that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any portion or portions of the imprisonment to which he is sentenced, not exceeding three months in the whole, according to the following scale, namely: —

(a) a time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months;

(b) a time not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six months and shall not exceed one year;

Corresponding IPC provision

As given in the correspondence table of the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs). Read both texts before relying on it. NCRB table

11	73. Solitary confinement.

Leading cases

Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration (1978)Decided on IPC section 73Reading down Sections 30(2) and 56 of the Prisons Act, 1894, the Court held that a prisoner under sentence of death cannot be kept in solitary confinement and that bar fetters may be imposed only on recorded, individual safety grounds.

Questions on this section

1 question in 7 of our papers cite Section 11. Try these from the free papers:

1. A is convicted of an offence for which the Court has power to award rigorous imprisonment, and is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for ten months. Under Section 11 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, what is the maximum total period of solitary confinement that the Court may order?

Practise questions on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita