Section 468 BNSS: Set-Off of Detention Against Sentence of Imprisonment

Section 468 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with credit for the period an accused has already spent in detention during the investigation, inquiry or trial of the same case before conviction.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 • Act No. 46 of 2023 • In force from 1 July 2024, subject to the notified exception concerning the First Schedule entry linked to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Text of Section 468 BNSS

468. Where an accused person has, on conviction, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term, not being imprisonment in default of payment of fine, the period of detention, if any, undergone by him during the investigation, inquiry or trial of the same case and before the date of such conviction, shall be set off against the term of imprisonment imposed on him on such conviction, and the liability of such person to undergo imprisonment on such conviction shall be restricted to the remainder, if any, of the term of imprisonment imposed on him.

Proviso: In cases referred to in Section 475, such period of detention is to be set off against the period of fourteen years referred to in that section.

What Section 468 Means

The provision prevents an accused from effectively serving the same period twice. If a person is ultimately convicted and sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment, detention already undergone in the same case before conviction is deducted from that sentence. Only the balance of the sentence, if any, remains to be served.

Essential conditions for set-off

There must be a conviction followed by a sentence of imprisonment for a term.
The detention must have been undergone during the investigation, inquiry or trial of the same case.
The detention must have occurred before the date of conviction.
The provision does not apply to imprisonment ordered only because of default in payment of a fine.
For cases falling under Section 475 BNSS, the proviso applies the set-off against the fourteen-year period specified there.

Practical Effect

For example, if an accused remained in custody for one year before conviction and is later sentenced to three years' imprisonment in the same case, the one-year period already undergone is ordinarily credited against the three-year sentence. The remaining liability would therefore be the balance of the sentence, subject to the precise terms of the judgment, warrant and applicable law.

Relationship with the Earlier CrPC

Section 468 BNSS continues the familiar statutory principle of setting off pre-conviction detention against a term sentence. Practitioners should, however, cite the applicable provision according to the law governing the proceeding and the relevant commencement and saving provisions rather than assuming that the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies to every matter after commencement of the BNSS.

Legal reading note: Section 468 should be read with the sentencing order, prison warrant, Section 475 where applicable, and the commencement and saving framework of the BNSS. The statutory text remains controlling.

Official Sources

For authoritative verification, consult the official text of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 published through the India Code portal and the Ministry of Home Affairs - New Criminal Laws page.

Related BNSS Provisions

Readers may also refer to Section 467 - Sentence on offender already sentenced for another offence, Section 469 - Saving, and the BNSS provision concerning the fourteen-year restriction referred to in Section 468's proviso.

Updated for the law in force as of 12 September 2026.