Section 300 BNSS 2023: Non-application of Chapter

Updated: September 11, 2026

In brief: Section 300 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provides that the plea bargaining Chapter does not apply to a juvenile or child as defined in Section 2 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Text of Section 300 BNSS

300. Non-application of Chapter. Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to any juvenile or child as defined in section 2 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (2 of 2016).

Meaning and scope of Section 300

Section 300 creates a specific exclusion from the BNSS provisions dealing with plea bargaining. Where the person concerned is a juvenile or child within the meaning of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the procedure under this BNSS Chapter cannot be applied to that person.

The provision reflects the separate statutory framework applicable to children under the Juvenile Justice law. The Juvenile Justice Act uses a child-specific adjudicatory and rehabilitative process and gives overriding application to that framework in matters concerning children in conflict with law.

Who is a child under the Juvenile Justice Act?

Section 2(12) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 defines a child as a person who has not completed eighteen years of age. Section 2(13) defines a child in conflict with law as a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offence and who had not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of the offence.

Practical effect of Section 300

The plea bargaining provisions in the relevant BNSS Chapter are not available for juveniles or children covered by the Juvenile Justice Act.
The age and legal status of the person must be considered under the Juvenile Justice framework.
Proceedings involving a child in conflict with law are governed by the special procedure, institutions and safeguards provided under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Section 300 should be read together with the definitions and overriding application provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

Important: Section 300 is titled Non-application of Chapter. The preceding Section 299 is the provision titled Statements of accused not to be used.

Commencement of the BNSS

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act 46 of 2023. The Central Government appointed July 1, 2024 as the date on which the BNSS came into force, subject to the notified exception concerning the entry relating to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the First Schedule.

Official legal resources

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 - India Code
Ministry of Home Affairs - New Criminal Laws
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - India Code

Related BNSS sections

For continuity, readers may also refer to the immediately preceding provisions on plea bargaining, including Section 291 - Guidelines for mutually satisfactory disposition, Section 292 - Report of mutually satisfactory disposition to be submitted before Court, Section 293 - Disposal of case, Section 294 - Judgment of Court, Section 295 - Finality of judgment, Section 296 - Power of Court in plea bargaining, Section 297 - Period of detention undergone by accused to be set off against sentence of imprisonment, Section 298 - Savings, and Section 299 - Statements of accused not to be used.