Section 288 BNSS: Language of Record and Judgment
Section 288 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 governs the language in which the record and judgment of a summary trial are to be prepared and permits a limited High Court-authorised method for preparation through an officer appointed for that purpose.
Text of Section 288 BNSS
288. Language of record and judgment.
(1) Every such record and judgment shall be written in the language of the Court.
(2) The High Court may authorise any Magistrate empowered to try offences summarily to prepare the aforesaid record or judgment or both by means of an officer appointed in this behalf by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, and the record or judgment so prepared shall be signed by such Magistrate.
Section 288 forms part of Chapter XXII of the BNSS, dealing with summary trials. It must therefore be read together with the immediately preceding provisions on the record of a summary trial and the judgment where the accused does not plead guilty.
What Section 288 means
The provision contains two rules. First, the record and judgment contemplated by the summary-trial chapter must be written in the language of the Court. In practical terms, the applicable court language is determined by the law, rules, notifications and administrative framework governing the particular court and State or Union Territory.
Second, the High Court may authorise a Magistrate who is empowered to conduct summary trials to have the record, judgment, or both prepared through an officer appointed for that purpose by the Chief Judicial Magistrate. Even where that authorised method is used, the Magistrate must sign the resulting record or judgment.
How Section 288 fits with Sections 286 and 287
| Provision | Subject | Connection with Section 288 |
|---|---|---|
| Section 286 | Record in summary trials | Specifies the particulars to be entered in the record of a summary trial. |
| Section 287 | Judgment in cases tried summarily | Requires the substance of evidence and a brief statement of reasons where the accused does not plead guilty. |
| Section 288 | Language of record and judgment | Regulates the language and permitted mode of preparation of those records and judgments. |
Key requirements under Section 288
- The provision applies in the context of summary trials under Chapter XXII.
- The relevant record and judgment must be written in the language of the Court.
- Preparation through another officer is not automatic; it requires authorisation by the High Court.
- The officer used for that purpose must be appointed in that behalf by the Chief Judicial Magistrate.
- The Magistrate remains responsible for signing the record or judgment so prepared.
Corresponding provision under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Section 288 BNSS corresponds to Section 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which carried the same subject heading, "Language of record and judgment." The BNSS reorganised and renumbered the criminal procedure provisions when it replaced the earlier Code for proceedings governed by the new law.
Official text of the BNSS
For the authoritative statutory text, refer to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code.
Related BNSS provisions
Readers may also refer to Section 283 - Power to try summarily, Section 284 - Summary trial by Magistrate of second class, Section 285 - Procedure for summary trials, Section 286 - Record in summary trials, and Section 287 - Judgment in cases tried summarily.