Section 407 BNSS: Sentence of Death to be Submitted by Court of Session for Confirmation

Section 407 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) requires a Court of Session that passes a sentence of death to submit the proceedings immediately to the High Court. The death sentence cannot be executed unless the High Court confirms it.

Key rule:

A death sentence passed by a Sessions Court is not executable by itself. It is subject to mandatory confirmation by the High Court. The convicted person is to be committed to jail custody under a warrant while the statutory confirmation process continues.

Text of Section 407 BNSS

407. Sentence of death to be submitted by Court of Session for confirmation.

(1) When the Court of Session passes a sentence of death, the proceedings shall forthwith be submitted to the High Court, and the sentence shall not be executed unless it is confirmed by the High Court.

(2) The Court passing the sentence shall commit the convicted person to jail custody under a warrant.

Meaning and Scope of Section 407

Section 407 forms part of Chapter XXX of the BNSS, which deals with submission of death sentences for confirmation. The provision creates a compulsory High Court confirmation stage whenever a Court of Session imposes the death penalty.

The rule operates together with Section 22(2) BNSS, under which a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge may pass any sentence authorised by law, but a death sentence passed by such a Judge is subject to confirmation by the High Court.

Requirements Under Section 407

Death sentence by Court of Session: The provision applies when a Court of Session passes a sentence of death.
Immediate submission: The proceedings must be submitted forthwith to the High Court.
No execution before confirmation: The sentence cannot be executed unless the High Court confirms it.
Custody under warrant: The sentencing Court must commit the convicted person to jail custody under a warrant.

What Happens After a Reference Under Section 407?

The succeeding provisions of the BNSS describe the High Court's powers and the procedure after the Sessions Court submits the case for confirmation.

Provision	Subject
Section 408	Power of the High Court to direct further inquiry or additional evidence.
Section 409	Power of the High Court to confirm the sentence, pass another lawful sentence, alter the conviction as permitted by law, order a new trial, or acquit the accused.
Section 410	Requirement that confirmation or a new sentence or order be made, passed and signed by at least two Judges where the High Court consists of two or more Judges.
Section 411	Procedure where the Judges hearing the case are equally divided in opinion.
Section 412	Communication of the High Court's confirmation or other order to the Court of Session.

High Court's Power Under Section 409 BNSS

Once the case is submitted under Section 407, Section 409 authorises the High Court to examine the matter and to make the orders permitted by that provision. The High Court may confirm the death sentence or pass another sentence warranted by law. It may also, in the circumstances specified in Section 409, annul the conviction, convict the accused of another offence that the Sessions Court could have found, order a new trial, or acquit the accused.

Section 409 also provides that an order confirming the death sentence cannot be made until the period allowed for filing an appeal has expired or, where an appeal is filed within that period, until the appeal has been disposed of.

Why High Court Confirmation Is Mandatory

The statutory scheme places an additional judicial scrutiny stage between the Sessions Court's sentence and any execution of that sentence. Section 407 therefore prevents a Sessions Court death sentence from becoming executable merely because it has been pronounced. Confirmation by the High Court is a statutory precondition.

Practical point:

Section 407 should be read with Sections 408 to 412 BNSS because those provisions regulate further inquiry or evidence, the High Court's decision-making powers, the required judicial signatures, differences of opinion, and communication of the final High Court order.

BNSS Commencement

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act 46 of 2023. The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which the BNSS came into force, subject to the exception stated in the commencement notification concerning the specified First Schedule entry.

Related BNSS Provisions

Last reviewed: 12 September 2026.