Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XXIX: The Judgment
Section 400: Order to pay costs in non-cognizable cases
In plain words
When a court convicts on a complaint of a non-cognizable offence, it can also order the accused to pay the complainant's prosecution costs, including process fees, witness expenses and reasonable advocate's fees, with simple imprisonment of up to thirty days in default. Appeal and revision courts can make the same order.
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) Whenever any complaint of a non-cognizable offence is made to a Court, the Court, if it convicts the accused, may, in addition to the penalty imposed upon him, order him to pay to the complainant, in whole or in part, the cost incurred by him in the prosecution, and may further order that in default of payment, the accused shall suffer simple imprisonment for a period not exceeding thirty days and such costs may include any expenses incurred in respect of process-fees, witnesses and advocate's fees which the Court may consider reasonable.
(2) An order under this section may also be made by an Appellate Court or by the High Court or Court of Session when exercising its powers of revision.
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 400
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.