Section 250 BNSS: Discharge in a Trial Before a Court of Session

Section 250 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ("BNSS") governs discharge of an accused at the pre-charge stage in a trial before a Court of Session. It gives the accused a statutory period of sixty days from the date of commitment under Section 232 to prefer an application for discharge.

The BNSS is Act No. 46 of 2023. It received Presidential assent on 25 December 2023 and, subject to the notified exception concerning the First Schedule entry relating to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, came into force on 1 July 2024.

Text of Section 250 BNSS - Discharge

250. (1) The accused may prefer an application for discharge within a period of sixty days from the date of commitment of the case under section 232.

(2) If, upon consideration of the record of the case and the documents submitted therewith, and after hearing the submissions of the accused and the prosecution in this behalf, the Judge considers that there is not sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused, he shall discharge the accused and record his reasons for so doing.

Meaning and Scope of Section 250 BNSS

Section 250 operates after a case triable exclusively by a Court of Session has been committed to that Court under Section 232 BNSS. It is part of Chapter XIX of the BNSS, which deals with trials before a Court of Session.

The provision contains two principal elements. First, sub-section (1) fixes a sixty-day period for the accused to prefer the discharge application, counted from the date of commitment of the case under Section 232. Second, sub-section (2) states the test to be applied by the Judge while considering whether the accused should be discharged.

What is "Discharge" Under Section 250?

Discharge under Section 250 is a judicial determination made before the framing of charge. At this stage, the Judge considers the case record and accompanying documents and hears both the accused and the prosecution. If the Judge finds that there is not sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused, the accused must be discharged and reasons must be recorded.

A discharge order therefore ends the Sessions trial against the accused at the pre-charge stage on the ground specified in Section 250(2). It is distinct from an acquittal rendered after a trial on the charge.

Sixty-Day Period for a Discharge Application

Section 250(1) expressly provides that the accused may prefer an application for discharge within sixty days from the date on which the case is committed under Section 232 BNSS. The introduction of an express statutory time period makes the date of commitment important for calculating the period available to the accused.

Practical point: The statutory wording calculates the sixty-day period from the date of commitment of the case under Section 232, not from the date on which the accused first decides to seek discharge.

Test Applied by the Sessions Judge

Under Section 250(2), the Judge considers the record of the case and the documents submitted with it. The Judge must also hear the submissions of both the accused and the prosecution.

If, after that consideration and hearing, the Judge finds that there is not sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused, the statutory consequence is discharge. The Judge is also required to record reasons for the decision.

Section 232 BNSS and Commitment to the Court of Session

Section 232 BNSS deals with commitment of a case where the offence is triable exclusively by a Court of Session. After the prescribed documents have been supplied under the applicable provisions, the Magistrate commits the case to the Court of Session and sends the record, documents and articles required for the Sessions proceedings.

This commitment is the event from which the sixty-day period specified in Section 250(1) begins to run.

Relationship with Sections 248, 249 and 251 BNSS

Provision	Subject	Role in Sessions Trial
Section 248	Trial to be conducted by Public Prosecutor	Provides that the prosecution in every Sessions trial is conducted by a Public Prosecutor.
Section 249	Opening case for prosecution	The prosecutor describes the charge and states the evidence proposed to prove guilt.
Section 250	Discharge	Provides the pre-charge discharge mechanism and the sixty-day application period.
Section 251	Framing of charge	Applies where, after consideration and hearing, the Judge finds ground for presuming that the accused committed an offence.

Key Requirements of Section 250 BNSS

The case must have reached the Court of Session following commitment under Section 232 for the sixty-day rule in Section 250(1) to apply.
The accused may prefer a discharge application within sixty days from the date of commitment.
The Judge considers the case record and the documents submitted with it.
Both the accused and the prosecution are entitled to make submissions on discharge.
If there is no sufficient ground for proceeding, the Judge shall discharge the accused.
The Judge must record reasons for the discharge.

Official BNSS Resources

For the authoritative statutory text and Government material, see the Ministry of Home Affairs - New Criminal Laws and the India Code portal.

Note: This page is a general legal information resource. The application of Section 250 depends on the facts, procedural history and record of the individual case.