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Indian criminal procedure | Updated October 2026

CrPC Section 320 - Compounding of Offences and BNSS Section 359

Compounding is the legally recognised settlement of a specified criminal offence by the person authorised under the statute. The governing procedure now appears in Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), corresponding to Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC).

Current legal position: BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024. Section 531 contains repeal and savings rules relevant to pending proceedings. The applicable offence provision, commencement date and any valid state amendment must be checked in each case.

What is compounding of an offence?

Compounding is a settlement recognised by criminal procedure law for an offence expressly listed as compoundable. It is not a general right to settle every criminal case. The authorised person, any requirement of court permission and other statutory conditions must be satisfied. A lawful composition under the section has the effect of acquittal of the accused concerned.

BNSS Section 359: Current law

Section 359 divides listed offences into those that may be compounded by the specified person without the special permission required by subsection (2), and those that require permission of the court where prosecution is pending. The following are illustrative entries only; consult the complete statutory tables before acting.

Section 359(1): Selected offences

OffenceBNS sectionPerson entitled to compound
Enticing or taking away a married woman84Husband and woman
Voluntarily causing hurt115(2)Person hurt
Hurt on provocation122(1)Person hurt
Grievous hurt on grave and sudden provocation122(2)Person hurt
Wrongful restraint or confinement126(2), 127(2)Person restrained or confined
Theft303(2)Owner of stolen property
Dishonest misappropriation314Owner of property

Section 359(2): Selected offences requiring court permission

OffenceBNS sectionPerson entitled to compound
Insulting modesty of a woman79Woman concerned
Bigamy82(1)Spouse of the person marrying
Causing miscarriage88Woman concerned
Voluntarily causing grievous hurt117(2)Person hurt
Causing hurt by rash or negligent act125(a)Person hurt

Read the complete official BNSS text and both statutory tables for the exhaustive list, correct section references and entitled persons.

Key rules under Section 359(3) to (9)

  1. Related liability: Subject to the statutory language, abetment, punishable attempts and certain joint-liability cases may be compounded in the same manner.
  2. Child or person of unsound mind: A person competent to contract on their behalf may compound with court permission.
  3. Deceased complainant: A legal representative may compound with the consent of the court.
  4. Committed cases or pending appeals: Leave of the appropriate court is required.
  5. Revision: The High Court or Court of Session exercising revision powers may permit compounding in accordance with the section.
  6. Previous conviction: Statutory restrictions apply where an enhanced or different punishment follows from an earlier conviction.
  7. Effect: Valid composition operates as an acquittal of the accused with whom the offence is compounded.
  8. Exclusivity: Offences cannot be compounded outside the statutory framework of this section, subject to other applicable laws and the distinct constitutional or inherent jurisdiction of superior courts.

CrPC Section 320: Earlier law and continuing relevance

Section 320 CrPC governed compounding of offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Its subsections (1) and (2) contained separate tables, followed by provisions governing attempts and abetment, minors and persons lacking capacity, deceased complainants, appellate and revisional proceedings, the effect of acquittal and restrictions on compounding. For matters saved by Section 531 BNSS, the former CrPC framework may remain relevant.

State amendments and special considerations

The source page records historical state amendments concerning Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, including specified rioting, obscenity, criminal intimidation and matrimonial cruelty offences. Their present operation must be checked against the applicable state legislation, territorial applicability, later amendments and transition rules. These historical provisions should not be treated as automatically incorporated into the central BNSS tables.

Frequently asked questions

Is every criminal offence compoundable?

No. Only offences made compoundable by the applicable legislation can be compounded through the statutory procedure.

Does compounding always need court permission?

No. Section 359(1) and Section 359(2) distinguish the two categories. Other procedural requirements may still apply depending on the stage of the case.

What is the effect of valid compounding?

Under Section 359(8), it has the effect of acquittal of the accused with whom the offence is compounded.

Is Section 320 CrPC still relevant?

Yes, particularly for proceedings governed by the repeal and savings provisions in Section 531 BNSS and for historical legal analysis.

Official statutory sources

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 - official PDF (India Code); Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (India Code); Bureau of Police Research and Development - new criminal laws.

Historical reference: Original CrPC Section 320 material

The following archival material preserves the detailed offence listings, procedural provisions and state-amendment notes from the previous page. It is retained for research and reference, not presented as an up-to-date consolidated statutory text. Some entries in the old material, including adultery under former IPC Section 497, are obsolete.

Expand historical offence tables and state amendments
(1) The offences punishable under the sections of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) specified in the first two columns of the Table next following may be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of that Table:- 1[TABLE Offence Section of the Person by whom offence Indian Penal may be compounded Code applicable 1 2 3 Uttering words, etc., with deliberate 298 The person whose religious feelings intent to wound the religious are intended to be wounded. feelings of any person. Voluntarily causing hurt. 323 The person to whom the hurt is caused. Voluntarily causing hurt on 334 Ditto. provocation. Voluntarily causing grievous hurt 335 The person to whom the hurt is on grave and sudden provocation. caused. Wrongfully restraining or confining341, The person restrained or confined. any person. 342 Wrongfully confining a person for 343 The person confined. three days or more Wrongfully confining a person for 344 Ditto. ten days or more. 1 2 3 Wrongfully confining a person in 346 The person confined. secret. Assault or use of criminal force. 352, The person assaulted or to whom 355, criminal force is used. 358 Theft. 379 The owner of the property stolen. Dishonest misappropriation of 403 The owner of the property property. misappropriated. Criminal breach of trust by a carrier,407 The owner of the property in respect wharfinger, etc. of which the breach of trust has been committed. Dishonestly receiving stolen 411 The owner of the property stolen. property knowing it to be stolen. Assisting in the concealment or 414 Ditto. disposal of stolen property, knowing it to be stolen. Cheating. 417 The person cheated. Cheating by personation. 419 Ditto. Fraudulent removal or concealment 421 The creditors who are affected of property, etc., to prevent thereby. distribution among creditors. Fraudulently preventing from being 422 Ditto. made available for his creditors a debt or demand due to the offender. Fraudulent execution of deed of 423 The person affected thereby. transfer containing false statement of consideration. Fraudulent removal or concealment 424 Ditto. of property. Mischief, when the only loss or 426, The person to whom the loss or damage caused is loss or damage to 427 damage is caused. a private person. Mischief by killing or maiming 428 The owner of the animal. animal. Mischief by killing or maiming 429 The owner of the cattle or animal. cattle, etc. Mischief by injury to works of 430 The person to whom the loss or irrigation by wrongfully diverting damage is caused. water when the only loss or damage caused is loss or damage to private person. 1 2 3 Criminal trespass. 447 The person in possession of the property trespassed upon. House-trespass. 448 Ditto. House-trespass to commit an 451 The person in possession of the offence (other than theft) punishable house trespassed upon. with imprisonment. Using a false trade or property 482 The person to whom loss or injury is mark. caused by such use. Counterfeiting a trade or property 483 Ditto. mark used by another. Knowingly selling, or exposing or 486 Ditto. possessing for sale or for manufacturing purpose, goods marked with a counterfeit property mark. Criminal breach of contract of 491 The person with whom the offender service. has contracted. Adultery. 497 The husband of the woman. Enticing or taking away or detaining498 The husband of the woman and the with criminal intent a married woman woman. Defamation, except such cases as 500 The person defamed. are specified against section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) in column 1 of the Table under sub-section (2). Printing or engraving matter, 501 Ditto. knowing it to be defamatory. Sale of printed or engraved 502 Ditto. substance containing defamatory matter, knowing it to contain such matter. Insult intended to provoke a breach 504 The person insulted./bt of the peace. Criminal intimidation. 506 The person intimidated. Inducing person to believe himself 508 The person induced. an object of divine displeasure. (2) The offences punishable under the sections of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) specified in the first two columns of the Table next following may, with the permission of the Court before which any prosecution for such offence is pending, be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of that Table:-- 2[TABLE Offence Section of the Person by whom offence Indian Penal may be compounded Code applicable 1 2 3 Causing miscarriage. 312 The woman to whom miscarriage is caused . Voluntarily causing grievous hurt. 325 The person to whom hurt is caused. Causing hurt by doing an act so 337 Ditto. rashly and negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others. Causing grievous hurt by doing an 338 Ditto. act so rashly and negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others. Assault or criminal force in attempt-357 The person assaulted or to whom ting wrongfully to confine a person. the force was used. Theft, by clerk or servant of 381 The owner of the property stolen. property in possession of master. Criminal breach of trust 406 The owner of property in respect of which breach of trust has been committed. Criminal breach of trust by a clerk 408 The owner of the property in respect or servant. of which the breach of trust has been committed. Cheating a person whose interest 418 The person cheated. the offender was bound, either by law or by legal contract, to protect. Cheating and dishonestly inducing 420 The person cheated. delivery of property or the making, alteration or destruction of a valuable security. Marrying again during the life-time 494 The husband or wife of the person so marrying. of a husband or wife. 1 2 3 Defamation against the President or the 500 The person defamed. Vice-President or the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union territory or a Minister in respect of his public functions when instituted upon] a complaint made by the Public Prosecutor. Uttering words or sounds or making 509 The woman whom it was intended to gestures or exhibiting any object insult or whose privacy was intruded intending to insult the modesty of a upon. woman or intruding upon the privacy of a woman. 3 [(3) When an offence is compoundable under this section, the abetment of such offence or an attempt to commit such offence (when such attempt is itself an offence) or where the accused is liable under section 34 or 149 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) may be compounded in like manner.] (4) (a) When the person who would otherwise be competent to compound an offence under this section is under the age of eighteen years or is an idiot or a lunatic, any person competent to contract on his behalf may, with the permission of the Court, compound such offence. (b) When the person who would otherwise be competent to compound an offence under this section is dead, the legal representative, as defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) of such person may, with the consent of the Court, compound such offence. (5) When the accused has been committed for trial or when he has been convicted and an appeal is pending, no composition for the offence shall be allowed without the leave of the Court to which he is committed, or, as the case may be, before which the appeal is to be heard. (6) A High Court or Court of Session acting in the exercise of its powers of revision under section 401 may allow any person to compound any offence which such person is competent to compound under this section. (7) No offence shall be compounded if the accused is, by reason of a previous conviction, liable either to enhanced punishment or to a punishment of a different kind for such offence. (8) The composition of an offence under this section shall have the effect of an acquittal of the accused with whom the offence has been compounded. (9) No offence shall be compounded except as provided by this section. STATE AMENDMENT Madhya Pradesh Amendment of Section 320.--In the table below sub-section (2) of Section 320 of the principal Act,-- (i) in column first, second and third, before section 324 and entries relating thereto, the following sections and entries relating thereto shall be inserted, namely:-- "(1) (2) (3) Rioting 147 The person against whom the force or violence is used at the time of committing an offence: Provided that the accused is not charged with other offence which is not compoundable. Rioting armed with deadly weapon 148 The person against whom the force or violence is used at the time of committing an offence: Provided that the accused is not charged with other offence which is not compoundable. Obscene acts or use of obscene words 294 The person against whom obscene acts were done or obscene words were used.". (ii) in column first, second and third, after section 500 and entries relating thereto, the following section and entries relating thereto shall be inserted, namely:-- "(1) (2) (3) Criminal intimidation if threat to be caused death or grievous hurt, etc. Part II of Section 506 The person against whom the offence of Criminal Intimidation was committed.. [Vide Madhya Pradesh 17 of 1999, s. 3.] Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Amendment of section 320 Central Act 2 of 1974.--In the code of criminal Procedure, 1973, in section 320, in sub-section (2), in the Table and in the column thereof; after item, the following item and entries relating thereto shall be inserted, namely:-- "marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife. 494. The husband or wife of the person so marrying." "Husband or relative of Husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. 498-A The women subjected to cruelty: Provided that a minimum period of three months shall elapse from the date of request or application for compromise before a Court and the Court can accept a request for compounding an offence under section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, provided none of the parties withdraw the case in the intervening period." [Vide the Andhra Pradesh Act 11 of 2003, s. 2]. ---------------------------- 1. Subs. by Act 5 of 2009, s. 23, for the TABLE (w.e.f. 31-12-2009) 2. Subs. by Act 5 of 2009, s. 23, for TABLE (w.e.f. 31-12-2009). 3. Subs. by Act 5 of 2009, s. 23, for sub-section (3) (w.e.f. 31-12-2009).

This article provides general legal information. Consult the latest official legislation and applicable judicial decisions for a particular case.