Dual Charging
Definition
The Indian cyber FIR practice of adding both an IT Act section and a BNS section for the same act, so each captures a different facet of the offence.
- Jurisdiction
- India
- Practice
- Adding an IT Act section alongside a BNS section
- Applies to
- Same underlying cyber act
- Purpose
- Each section captures a different facet of the offence
Common questions
Why charge both an IT Act section and a BNS section for one cyber offence rather than just one?+
The IT Act sections address the specific electronic or technological element of an offence, such as unauthorised access or identity theft using a computer resource, while the corresponding BNS section addresses the underlying substantive crime, such as cheating or defamation, so the two statutes together cover facets neither fully captures alone.
Does dual charging risk double jeopardy for the accused?+
Indian courts have generally treated dual charging under distinct statutory provisions addressing different ingredients of the same conduct as permissible rather than double jeopardy, since double jeopardy protections attach to being punished twice for the same offence with identical ingredients, not to being charged under multiple applicable statutes for a single course of conduct.
Related terms
- BNS 2023
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Act 45 of 2023. India's substantive criminal code with effect from 1 July 2024. Contains 358 sections in...
- BSA 2023
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023: the Indian evidence statute that replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872 on 1 July 2024; retains the section...
- Primary vs Secondary Electronic Evidence
- Primary is the original electronic record in the originating computer system; secondary is any copy, output or printout. BSA Sections 60 and...
- Section 39 BSA
- Expert opinion provision; covers science, art, handwriting, finger impressions, footprints and electronic evidence. Successor to IEA Section 45.
- Section 63 BSA
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 provision that requires a statutory certificate for admissibility of a copy of an electronic record. Applies to browser-extracted...