Criminal litigation often outlives the quarrel that started it. Neighbours reconcile, families patch marriages, business partners settle accounts — sometimes years after a trial court has already convicted. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 anticipates this. Section 359 (corresponding to Section 320 CrPC) lists the offences that may be compounded — some by the victim alone, others only with the permission of the court — and provides that where the accused has been convicted and an appeal is pending, composition may be allowed with the leave of the court before which the appeal is to be heard. Because composition has the effect of an acquittal, an appellate-stage settlement can convert a conviction into a clean record. Understanding the mechanics, and the limits, is essential before promising a client that outcome.
The statutory design
Section 359 BNSS embodies a legislative sorting of offences by their essential character. Offences that are primarily private wrongs — hurt in its simple form, mischief against private property, defamation, criminal breach of trust and cheating within specified bounds — may be extinguished by the reconciliation of the parties, either freely or under judicial supervision. Offences with a dominant public dimension stay outside the tables and outside the parties' power to settle. The provision then follows the case through its life: composition is possible during trial; after conviction, while an appeal is pending, it requires the leave of the appellate court; and its effect, whenever it lawfully occurs, is an acquittal of the compounded offence.
Why parties compound at the appellate stage
Late settlements are real settlements
Matrimonial and neighbourhood disputes frequently settle only when the conviction concentrates minds — appellate compounding gives that peace legal effect.
Acquittal, not sympathy
Composition does not merely reduce the sentence; it acquits. For employment, immigration and reputational purposes, the difference is categorical.
Certainty over litigation risk
An appeal argued on merits can fail; a permitted composition cannot. Where the offence is in the tables and the victim is genuinely willing, compounding is often the rational close.
Judicial economy
Courts encourage genuine composition of listed offences; it clears dockets of disputes the parties themselves no longer wish to fight.
The application in practice
Where some offences of conviction are compoundable and others are not, courts deal with each on its own footing: the compoundable counts go by composition, and the appeal is decided on the remainder — in which the fact of settlement may still bear on sentence, though not on guilt.
Compounding, quashing and sentence-stage settlement compared
| Route | Scope | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Compounding (Section 359 BNSS) | Only offences listed in the tables; after conviction, with leave of the appellate court | Acquittal of the compounded offence by operation of the statute |
| Quashing on settlement (Section 528 BNSS) | Non-compoundable offences of predominantly private character; discretionary, on settled parameters | Proceedings terminated by the High Court's inherent power; ordinarily invoked before or during trial, and applied with far greater caution after conviction |
| Settlement as a sentencing factor | Any offence, where composition and quashing are both unavailable | No effect on conviction; may mitigate sentence within statutory limits |
Counsel's duties on both sides
For the appellant's counsel, the primary duty is accuracy: promise composition only where the tables permit it, and structure any settlement payments so that performance and the court application travel together. For the victim's side, the safeguards are the point: composition is the victim's act, and no one else's — a victim under pressure should know that the court's enquiry into voluntariness is a genuine protection, and that declining to compound leaves the conviction, and the appeal, exactly where they were.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice or a solicitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which offences can be compounded?
Only those listed in the two tables of Section 359 BNSS. The first table lists offences compoundable by the specified victim without court permission — examples include voluntarily causing hurt, criminal trespass and defamation in its ordinary form. The second lists offences compoundable only with the court's permission, such as theft and cheating in specified forms. Offences outside the tables cannot be compounded at all.
Can an offence be compounded after conviction?
Yes, but only with the leave of the appellate court. Section 359 provides that once the accused is convicted and an appeal is pending, composition requires the leave of the court before which the appeal is to be heard. On composition being allowed, the accused stands acquitted of the compounded offence.
What is the difference between compounding and quashing on settlement?
Compounding is a statutory right confined to listed offences and results in acquittal by operation of law. Quashing under Section 528 BNSS is the High Court's inherent power, invoked chiefly for non-compoundable offences settled between parties, and is discretionary — exercised on well-settled parameters, and ordinarily withheld for heinous offences and crimes against society.
Does the victim have to appear personally?
The composition must be by the person named in the table as competent to compound — usually the person to whom the harm was caused. Courts routinely require the victim's presence or duly verified affidavit, and satisfy themselves that the settlement is voluntary and not the product of pressure, before granting leave.