BNSS Section 393: The judgment, language and contents (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A judgment is only as good as what it says. Section 393 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) sets out what a criminal judgment must contain and the language it must be in: the points for determination, the decision and the reasons, and, on conviction, the offence, the section, and the sentence. Section 393 carries forward Section 354 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). It is a procedure provision, so it creates no offence and carries no punishment of its own. This explainer sets out the required contents, how it differs from the pronouncement provision, and how it maps to the old law. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the contents of a judgment matter

A judgment is the record of how a court reached its decision. If it does not state the issues, the findings, and the reasons, it cannot be understood, tested, or appealed. A reasoned judgment is what makes the right of appeal real.

Section 393 is the provision that forces this discipline. It tells the court what every criminal judgment must contain and the language it must be in. A judgment that leaves out the reasons, or the exact offence and section of conviction, is open to challenge.

For an accused, this matters directly. The judgment must say what they were convicted of, under which section, and what the sentence is, or, on acquittal, set them at liberty.

02What Section 393 requires

Section 393 requires every criminal judgment to be written in the language of the court and to set out the court's reasoning and result. In plain terms, the judgment must:

• be written in the language of the court;
• state the point or points for determination, the decision on them, and the reasons for that decision;
• on conviction, state the offence, the section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or other law under which the accused is convicted, and the sentence passed;
• on acquittal, state the offence of which the accused is acquitted and direct that the accused be set at liberty.

A judgment that does not give the issues, the decision, and the reasons is not a judgment the law is satisfied with.

Section 393 is a procedure provision. It creates no offence and has no sentence of its own.

03Special cases: doubt and death sentences

Section 393 also deals with two harder situations.

• Doubt about the provision: where the conviction is under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and it is doubtful under which of two sections, or which of two parts of the same section, the offence falls, the court must distinctly express this and pass judgment in the alternative.
• Serious sentences: where the offence is punishable with death or, in the alternative, with imprisonment for life or a term of years, the judgment must state the reasons for the sentence awarded, and, for a sentence of death, the special reasons for that sentence.

04Section 392 and Section 393: pronouncement and contents

Two neighbouring sections deal with judgments, and it helps to keep them apart.

So Section 392 is about delivering the judgment, including the rule that it be pronounced in open court within the time allowed, and that an accused in custody be brought up, in person or through audio video means, to hear it. Section 393 is about what the written judgment must say.

05Old law to new law: CrPC 354

Section 393 of the BNSS carries forward Section 354 of the old CrPC, the language and contents of a judgment. The core requirements are substantially the same.

So an advocate who knows the old Section 354 will recognise the content. The change is mainly the number, and the reference to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 in place of the Indian Penal Code for the section of conviction. When you draft or challenge a judgment under the new code, cite Section 393, not the old Section 354.

06Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Whether a judgment measures up to Section 393, above all on its reasons and on the special reasons demanded for a death sentence, is a familiar ground of appeal. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments in under five seconds, so you can see how appellate courts have dealt with judgments that came up short on reasoning. It also tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, letting you follow a matter by party or advocate name from the trial judgment up to the appeal. Open a free Claw account to put this body of appellate reasoning to work in your own drafting and challenges. Research across every court begins at the case search across Indian courts hub.

Claw is a research and tracking tool and does not replace legal advice, and it does not use customer case documents to train its AI models.

07Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNSS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Section 393 BNSS (commentary): lexibal.com
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text of Section 393 and take advice from counsel before you act.

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