VoxJuris
Home › Acts › BNSS › Chapter XXII › Section 283

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XXII: Summary Trials

Section 283: Power to try summarily

Earlier law: CrPC section 260 (Power to try summarily)

In plain words

A Chief Judicial Magistrate or first class Magistrate must try certain minor offences in a summary (quick) way.

  • Theft, receiving stolen property, or helping hide stolen property, where the value does not exceed twenty thousand rupees.
  • Certain lurking house-trespass and house-breaking offences, insult to provoke a breach of the peace, and criminal intimidation.
  • Abetment or attempts of these, and offences that can be complained of under the Cattle-trespass Act, 1871.
  • After hearing the accused, and for recorded reasons, the Magistrate may also summarily try any offence not punishable with death, imprisonment for life or more than three years. No appeal lies against that decision.
  • If a case turns out unsuitable for summary trial, the Magistrate must recall witnesses and re-hear it in the regular way.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Sanhita—

(a) any Chief Judicial Magistrate;

(b) Magistrate of the first class,

shall try in a summary way all or any of the following offences:—

(i) theft, under sub-section (2) of section 303, section 305 or section 306 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 where the value of the property stolen does not exceed twenty thousand rupees;

(ii) receiving or retaining stolen property, under sub-section (2) of section 317 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, where the value of the property does not exceed twenty thousand rupees;

(iii) assisting in the concealment or disposal of stolen property under sub-section (5) of section 317 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, where the value of such property does not exceed twenty thousand rupees;

(iv) offences under sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 331 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023;

(v) insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, under section 352, and criminal intimidation, under sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023;

(vi) abetment of any of the foregoing offences;

(vii) an attempt to commit any of the foregoing offences, when such attempt is an offence;

(viii) any offence constituted by an act in respect of which a complaint may be made under section 20 of the Cattle-trespass Act, 1871 (1 of 1871).

(2) The Magistrate may, after giving the accused a reasonable opportunity of being heard, for reasons to be recorded in writing, try in a summary way all or any of the offences not punishable with death or imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term exceeding three years:

Provided that no appeal shall lie against the decision of a Magistrate to try a case in a summary way under this sub-section.

(3) When, in the course of a summary trial it appears to the Magistrate that the nature of the case is such that it is undesirable to try it summarily, the Magistrate shall recall any witnesses who may have been examined and proceed to re-hear the case in the manner provided by this Sanhita.

Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 12 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 283