BNS Section 11 — Solitary confinement

CHAPTER II OF PUNISHMENTS

General

Summary

Whenever a person is convicted of an offence for which the Court has the power to sentence them to rigorous imprisonment, the Court may, as part of the sentence, order that the offender be kept in solitary confinement. This solitary confinement can be for any portion or portions of the imprisonment, but the total cannot exceed three months. The maximum duration of solitary confinement is set according to a scale based on the length of the prison term.

Under clause (a), if the term of imprisonment does not exceed six months, the solitary confinement cannot exceed one month.

Under clause (b), if the term of imprisonment exceeds six months but does not exceed one year, the solitary confinement cannot exceed two months.

Under clause (c), if the term of imprisonment exceeds one year, the solitary confinement cannot exceed three months.

Official Text

Whenever any person is convicted of an offence for which under this Sanhita the Court has power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, the Court may, by its sentence, order that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any portion or portions of the imprisonment to which he is sentenced, not exceeding three months in the whole, according to the following scale, namely: —

(a) a time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months;

(b) a time not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six months and shall not exceed one year;

(c) a time not exceeding three months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed one year.

Related Judgments

  • SC (2025) Vol.3 p.1309 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
  • SC (2025) Vol.11 p.291 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
  • SC (2025) Vol.6 p.280 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
  • SC (2025) Vol.3 p.1531 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
  • SC (2024) Vol.8 p.670 — Supreme Court of India (2024)
  • SC (2024) Vol.6 p.129 — Supreme Court of India (2024)
  • SC (2025) Vol.4 p.2730 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
  • SC (2025) Vol.7 p.105 — Supreme Court of India (2025)

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