Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XXXIV: Execution, Suspension, Remission and Commutation of Sentences · B.—Imprisonment
Section 457: Power to appoint place of imprisonment
In plain words
The State Government can decide where people sentenced or committed under this Sanhita are confined. A court can move a person from a civil jail to a criminal jail, and on release they return to the civil jail unless three years have passed or the civil court certifies they are entitled to release.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
(1) Except when otherwise provided by any law for the time being in force, the State Government may direct in what place any person liable to be imprisoned or committed to custody under this Sanhita shall be confined.
(2) If any person liable to be imprisoned or committed to custody under this Sanhita is in confinement in a civil jail, the Court or Magistrate ordering the imprisonment or committal may direct that the person be removed to a criminal jail.
(3) When a person is removed to a criminal jail under sub-section (2), he shall, on being released therefrom, be sent back to the civil jail, unless either—-
(a) three years have elapsed since he was removed to the criminal jail, in which case he shall be deemed to have been released from the civil jail under section 58 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908); or
(b) the Court which ordered his imprisonment in the civil jail has certified to the officer in charge of the criminal jail that he is entitled to be released under section 58 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 12 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 457
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.