BNS Section 8: The amount of the fine, what happens if the fine isn’t paid, and other things.
How much the fine is, what happens if you don’t pay it, etc.
(1) If there is no set amount that a fine can be, the offender is responsible for any amount of fine, as long as it is not too high.
Whenever someone is found guilty of an offense that is (a) punishable by both jail time and a fine, where the offender is given a fine along with or without jail time; or (b) punishable by either jail time or a fine, or with fine only, where the offender is given a fine, the court that sentences them can say in the sentence that if they don’t pay the fine, they will go to jail for a certain amount of time. This jail time will be on top of any other jail time they are already serving or that they may be due under a commuted sentence.
- If the court tells the criminal they will go to jail if they don’t pay a fine, the jail time can’t be longer than one-fourth of the maximum jail time for the crime, if the crime is punished by both crime and fine.
(4) If the court finds that the person has not paid a fine or done community service, they can put them in jail for any type of sentence they could have received for the crime.
(5) If the crime is punishable by a fine or community service, the court can put the person in jail for a simple term if they don’t pay the fine or do the community service. The term of imprisonment can’t be longer than (a) two months if the fine is less than five thousand rupees or (b) four months if the fine is more than ten thousand rupees or (c) one year in any other case.
(6) The prison sentence for not paying a fine ends when the fine is paid or levied by the law. (b) If, before the end of the prison sentence for not paying the fine, a portion of the fine is paid or levied such that the length of the prison sentence for not paying the fine is at least equal to the amount of the fine that is still owed, the prison sentence ends.
Some examples
A is fined one thousand rupees and will go to jail for four months if no payment is made. In this case, if the fine of seven hundred and fifty rupees is paid before the end of the first month of jail time, A will be freed as soon as the first month is over. Seven hundred and fifty rupees must be paid or collected before the end of the first month or at any other time while A is still in jail. If this happens, A will be released right away. Five hundred rupees of the fine must be paid or issued before the two months of jail time are up. If A meets the requirements, they will be let go after two months. As soon as the 500 rupees fine is paid or imposed at the end of those two months or at any other time while A is still in jail, A will be released right away.
(7) The fine, or any part of it that hasn’t been paid, can be levied at any time within six years of the sentence getting executed. If the sentence calls for jail time for longer than six years, it can be levied at any time before the end of that period. Also, the offender’s death doesn’t free any property that would have been legally responsible for his debts after his death.
