Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter III: Of Punishments

Section 53: Punishments

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.

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 (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. 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.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 53

• Sukhdev Yadav @ Pehalwan v. State of (NCT of Delhi) & Others
  2025 INSC 96929 July 2025Disposed of

  Whether, an accused/convict who has completed his “life imprisonment for a fixed term” such as twenty years of actual sentence without remission, as in the instant case, is entitled to be released from prison on…

• Gyanendra Singh @ Raja Singh v. State of U.P.
  2025 INSC 3356 March 2025Partly allowed

  Whether the conviction of the appellant ought to have been recorded under the IPC or whether the provisions of the Special law, i.e., Section 42A of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, would prevail…

• Sandeep v. State of Uttarakhand
  2024 INSC 77114 October 2024Partly allowed

  The Sessions Court found the appellant guilty of the offence u/s.302 r/w. s.34 IPC, convicted and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life. The judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the Sessions…

• Bhaggi @ Bhagirath @ Naran v. The State of Madhya Pradesh
  2024 INSC 825 February 2024Partly allowed

  The capital punishment awarded to the petitioner-convict for the conviction u/s. 376 AB, IPC was not confirmed and it was commuted to imprisonment for life, which, going by the provisions thereunder, means imprisonment…

• CBI v. R.R. Kishore
  2023 INSC 81711 September 2023Matter referred to larger bench
• Ravinder Singh v. The State Govt. of NCT of Delhi
  2023 INSC 42625 April 2023Disposed of
• Shiva Kumar @ Shiva @ Shivamurthy v. State of
  2023 INSC 30628 March 2023Partly allowed
• Rohan Dhungat Etc. v. The State of Goa & Ors Etc.
  2023 INSC 165 January 2023Dismissed
• Union of India & Anr. v. M/S. Ganpati Dealcom Pvt. Ltd.
  2022 INSC 85323 August 2022Disposed of
• P. Mohanraj & Ors. v. M/S. Shah Brothers Ispat Pvt. Ltd.
  2021 INSC 1331 March 2021Disposed of
• Manoharan v. State by Inspector of Police, Variety Hall Police Station, Coimbatore
  2019 INSC 8511 August 2019Disposed of
• Kumaran v. State of Kerala & Anr.
  2017 INSC 4475 May 2017Dismissed
• State of Himachal Pradesh v. Nirmala Devi
  2017 INSC 32510 April 2017Appeal(s) allowed
• Vikas Yadav v. State of U.P. and Ors. Etc. Etc.
  2016 INSC 9433 October 2016Disposed of
• Balbhadra Parashar v. State of Madhya Pradesh
  2015 INSC 104110 December 2015Dismissed