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Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter III: Of Punishments

Section 55: Commutation of sentence of imprisonment for life

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.

Now in the BNS section 5 (Commutation of sentence)

In plain words

Where a sentence of imprisonment for life has been passed, the appropriate Government can, without the offender's consent, commute it to imprisonment of either description for up to fourteen years.

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

In every case in which sentence of [imprisonment] for life shall have been passed, [the appropriate Government] may, without the consent

of the offender, commute the punishment for imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

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 (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. 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.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 55