Section 399 BNSS: Compensation to Persons Groundlessly Arrested
Section 399 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) empowers the Magistrate hearing the case to award limited compensation where one person has caused a police officer to arrest another person without sufficient ground.
Text of Section 399 BNSS
399. Compensation to persons groundlessly arrested.
(1) Whenever any person causes a police officer to arrest another person, if it appears to the Magistrate by whom the case is heard that there was no sufficient ground for causing such arrest, the Magistrate may award such compensation, not exceeding one thousand rupees, to be paid by the person so causing the arrest to the person so arrested, for his loss of time and expenses in the matter, as the Magistrate thinks fit.
(2) In such cases, if more persons than one are arrested, the Magistrate may, in like manner, award to each of them such compensation, not exceeding one thousand rupees, as such Magistrate thinks fit.
(3) All compensation awarded under this section may be recovered as if it were a fine, and, if it cannot be so recovered, the person by whom it is payable shall be sentenced to simple imprisonment for such term not exceeding thirty days as the Magistrate directs, unless such sum is sooner paid.
What Section 399 Means
The provision addresses a specific situation: a person causes the police to arrest someone and the Magistrate hearing the case finds that there was no sufficient ground for causing that arrest. The section then permits the Magistrate to direct the person responsible for causing the arrest to compensate the arrested person for loss of time and expenses.
The phrase "groundlessly arrested" is not separately defined in Section 399. The operative statutory test is whether the Magistrate concludes that there was "no sufficient ground" for causing the arrest.
Key Features of Section 399
- Who may award compensation: the Magistrate by whom the case is heard.
- When it may be awarded: when the Magistrate finds no sufficient ground for causing the arrest.
- Who pays: the person who caused the police officer to make the groundless arrest.
- Maximum amount: up to Rs. 1,000 for each person groundlessly arrested.
- Purpose: compensation for loss of time and expenses in the matter.
- Recovery: the amount may be recovered as if it were a fine.
- Default consequence: if the compensation cannot be recovered, simple imprisonment up to 30 days may be directed unless the amount is sooner paid.
Section 399 BNSS and Section 358 CrPC
| Law | Provision | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 | Section 399 | Compensation to persons groundlessly arrested |
| Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 | Section 358 | Compensation to persons groundlessly arrested |
For matters governed by the BNSS, Section 399 is the relevant provision. The corresponding subject under the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure was Section 358. Application to older or pending proceedings must be considered with the BNSS repeal and savings provisions and the facts of the particular case.
Related BNSS Provisions
Section 399 appears in the chapter dealing with judgments and related orders. Nearby provisions include Section 398 - Witness Protection Scheme and Section 400 - Order to Pay Costs in Non-Cognizable Cases.
Official Legal Sources
For authoritative statutory text and commencement information, refer to the Government of India resources: India Code and the Ministry of Home Affairs commencement notification dated 23 February 2024.
Last reviewed: 12 September 2026. This page is intended for legal information and should be read with the official statutory text and applicable judicial decisions.