Provisions of Chapter XXIII of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 are not applicable to cases…

Section 289 of the BNSS (formerly section 265A CrPC) excludes offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or a term exceeding seven years from plea bargaining. A term exceeding three years is not by itself an exclusion: an otherwise eligible offence punishable up to seven years may qualify. Thus (i), (ii) and (iii) are correct, subject also to the socio-economic and protected-victim exclusions; the victim exclusion covers offences against a woman or a child, read with BNSS section 2(2) and BNS section 2(3) as a person below eighteen. Section 290 also requires the application within thirty days from framing the charge.