Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 505 BNSS: Power to Sell Perishable Property
Section 505 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 gives a Magistrate power to direct the sale of certain seized property when keeping the property may cause avoidable loss, deterioration or disproportionate inconvenience.
Current law: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 46 of 2023 and came into force on 1 July 2024. Section 505 forms part of the BNSS provisions dealing with disposal of property.
Text of Section 505 BNSS
505. Power to sell perishable property. If the person entitled to the possession of such property is unknown or absent and the property is subject to speedy and natural decay, or if the Magistrate to whom its seizure is reported is of opinion that its sale would be for the benefit of the owner, or that the value of such property is less than ten thousand rupees, the Magistrate may at any time direct it to be sold; and the provisions of sections 503 and 504 shall, as nearly as may be practicable, apply to the net proceeds of such sale.
What Section 505 means
The provision enables a Magistrate to prevent seized property from losing value merely because the person entitled to possession cannot immediately receive it. The power is directed at practical preservation of value: instead of retaining property that may decay, deteriorate or be uneconomical to keep, the Magistrate may order sale and preserve the net sale proceeds for subsequent treatment under the applicable procedure.
When can a Magistrate order sale?
Section 505 permits a sale where the statutory conditions are satisfied. In particular, the provision covers situations where:
- the person entitled to possession is unknown or absent and the property is subject to speedy and natural decay;
- the Magistrate considers that sale would be for the benefit of the owner; or
- the value of the property is less than Rs. 10,000.
The section states that the Magistrate may direct the property to be sold "at any time". This allows action before further deterioration or loss makes the property substantially less valuable.
What happens to the sale proceeds?
The property itself is converted into money, but the rights connected with the property are not simply ignored. Section 505 expressly provides that Section 503 BNSS and Section 504 BNSS apply, as nearly as practicable, to the net proceeds of the sale.
Section 503 BNSS
Section 503 deals with the procedure where police seizure of property is reported to a Magistrate and the property is not produced before a Criminal Court during an inquiry or trial. It provides the procedural framework for delivery, custody and claims concerning such property.
Section 504 BNSS
Section 504 addresses the situation where no claimant establishes a claim within the prescribed six-month period. Because Section 505 applies Sections 503 and 504 to net sale proceeds, the money obtained from a sale remains subject to the corresponding claim and disposal process.
Section 505 BNSS compared with Section 459 CrPC
Section 505 BNSS broadly corresponds to Section 459 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The structure and purpose remain similar, but the low-value threshold has been substantially updated.
| Provision | Subject | Low-value threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Section 505 BNSS, 2023 | Power to sell perishable property | Less than Rs. 10,000 |
| Section 459 CrPC, 1973 | Power to sell perishable property | Less than Rs. 500 |
Practical point: Section 505 is concerned with preserving the economic value of seized property. A sale order should therefore be understood together with the seizure, custody, claimant and disposal framework in Sections 503 and 504 BNSS.
Related BNSS provisions
For the complete statutory sequence, read Section 501, Section 502, Section 503, Section 504, Section 506, Section 507, Section 508, Section 509 and Section 510.
Updated: 12 September 2026