Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 373 BNSS: Judgment of Acquittal on Ground of Unsoundness of Mind

Section 373 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) deals with the form of the Court's finding when an accused is acquitted because, at the time of the alleged act, unsoundness of mind made the person incapable of understanding the nature of the act or that it was wrong or contrary to law.

Text of Section 373 BNSS

373. Judgment of acquittal on ground of unsoundness of mind. Whenever any person is acquitted upon the ground that, at the time at which he is alleged to have committed an offence, he was, by reason of unsoundness of mind, incapable of knowing the nature of the act alleged as constituting the offence, or that it was wrong or contrary to law, the finding shall state specifically whether he committed the act or not.

What Section 373 BNSS Means

Section 373 does more than record an acquittal. Where the acquittal is based on unsoundness of mind at the time of the alleged offence, the Court must also make a specific finding on a separate factual question: whether the accused actually committed the act alleged.

This distinction matters because an acquittal based on legal incapacity does not necessarily mean that the physical act itself was not committed. The section therefore requires the judgment to clearly state the Court's conclusion on that issue.

Connection with Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

The substantive criminal-law rule concerning unsoundness of mind is contained in Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It provides, in substance, that an act is not an offence where, because of unsoundness of mind at the time of doing the act, the person was incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that it was wrong or contrary to law.

Section 373 BNSS operates at the judgment stage. It tells the Court what its finding must specifically record when an acquittal is granted on that ground.

Key Legal Points

The relevant mental condition is the accused person's capacity at the time of the alleged act.
The acquittal is based on legal incapacity arising from unsoundness of mind, not merely on the existence of a medical diagnosis.
The judgment must separately state whether the accused committed the act alleged.
If the Court finds that the accused committed the act, the next procedural consequences are governed by the following BNSS provisions, including Section 374.
Section 373 forms part of Chapter XXVII of the BNSS, which contains provisions relating to accused persons of unsound mind.

Practical effect: A Court should not stop at recording that the accused is acquitted on the ground of unsoundness of mind. The finding should expressly address whether the act attributed to the accused was in fact committed by that person.

Related BNSS Provisions

Corresponding Provision under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Section 373 BNSS broadly corresponds to Section 334 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which dealt with judgment of acquittal on the ground of unsoundness of mind under the earlier procedural law.

Commencement of the BNSS

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 was enacted as Act 46 of 2023. Its provisions, subject to the notified exception concerning the First Schedule entry relating to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, came into force on July 1, 2024.