Understanding Sections 9 and 10 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
**Interpreting Sections 9 and 10 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023**
The Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, clearly explains how to ascertain punishments in case a single offense comprises several offenses or in case there is doubt regarding the offense committed. Sections 9 and 10 of the BNS deal with these situations to ensure just and proportionate punishment.
**Section 9: Restricting Punishment for Composite Offenses**
Section 9 deals with cases involving an action consisting of several parts, each of which could be an offense by itself. It prevents a person from being subjected to more than one punishment for what is essentially one act, except where indicated by statute.
*Illustration:* Think of a person, A, who beats another person, Z, fifty times with a stick. Each single blow may be considered a commission of causing hurt. Charging A individually for each blow might result in a very severe aggregate punishment. Section 9 requires A to be given a single punishment for the entire act, which mirrors the total act and not individual blows.
But if in the course of this act, a third party, Y, comes in and A knowingly hits Y, this is a distinct act from the assault on Z. Thus, A may be separately punished for the injury inflicted on Y, as well as for the punishment of the assault on Z.
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**Section 10: Punishment When Offense is Uncertain**
Section 10 deals with situations where one of several options is the crime of which an individual is held guilty, while it remains undetermined which offence was actually performed. In all such cases, where the corresponding punishments for all these offences vary, the defendant ought to receive the punishment designed for the slightest of the three offences. Through this rule, it is avoided that in such situations of doubt, the culprit should not get a more serious punishment than appropriate.
*Illumination:* A situation in which an individual is charged with theft or mischief, but the evidence does not conclusively prove which crime was committed. In case the theft can result in up to three years of imprisonment and the mischief can yield up to two years of imprisonment, the court will give the lesser sentence of mischief, following the rule of leniency due to ambiguity.
