Section 258 BNSS – Judgment of acquittal or conviction

(1) After hearing arguments and points of law (if any), the Judge shall give a judgment in the case, as soon as possible, within a period of thirty days from the date of completion of arguments, which may be extended to a period of forty-five days for reasons to be recorded in writing.

(2) If the accused is convicted, the Judge shall, unless he proceeds in accordance with the provisions of section 401, hear the accused on the questions of sentence, and then pass sentence on him according to law.

Corresponding provisions — source comparison

Reference in this text	Correspondence / source caption
Section 258 — Judgment of acquittal or conviction	Corresponding provision: Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, section 235 Source ↗

Comments

Same-day sentencing; death commutedAwarding death on the day of conviction breaches s. 235(2) CrPC, which requires a real hearing on mitigation. A ‘crime test 100%, criminal test 0%’ approach is wrong; killing a child to conceal rape is gravely aggravating but does not prove the offender beyond reform. With no antecedents, a deprived childhood and good prison conduct, death was commuted to life for the remainder of natural life without remission. — Waris v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2026 INSC 1050.

Appellate court reversing acquittal must sentenceAn appellate court that reverses an acquittal and convicts must itself hear the convict on sentence and impose it; remitting the case to the trial court only to sentence is foreign to s. 386(a) CrPC. The matter was sent back to the High Court to hear and sentence. — Mukesh Kumar Yadav v. State, 2026 INSC 559.

Successor judge need not rehear convictionOnce the predecessor judge has pronounced conviction under s. 235(1), the court is functus officio on guilt; the successor judge hears the convict only on sentence under s. 235(2). — Harshad Gupta v. State of Chhattisgarh, Supreme Court, 2024.

Same evidence, different verdictsA court cannot convict one accused and acquit another where the evidence against both is similar or identical. — Yogarani v. State by the Inspector of Police, AIR 2024 SC 4641.

Hearing on sentence by appellate courtAn appellate court reversing an acquittal must hear the accused on sentence as s. 235(2) requires; sentences imposed without that hearing were set aside as illegal. — Fedrick Cutinha v. State of Karnataka, AIR 2023 SC 2102; 2023 INSC 384.

Real sentencing hearingThe s. 235(2) hearing is not only oral; both sides must be able to place material on sentence. In death cases the trial court must give the accused adequate opportunity on mitigation; a death sentence was commuted for lack of evidence ruling out reform (Bhagwani v. State of M.P.). — Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2022 (9) SCALE 67.

Section 258 BNSS Judgment of acquittal or conviction

Judgments on Section 258

Waris v. State of Madhya Pradesh