COMMUNITY SERVICE UNDER BNS;” CONCEPT AND LEGALFRAMEWORK OF COMMUNITY SERVICE UNDER BNS

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 introduces community service as a formally recognised punitive framework of the past. This chapter critically analyses the conceptual evolution, statutory design, doctrinal foundations, and practical implications of this reform. It explores how community service aligns with contemporary sentencing philosophies, particularly restorative justice and proportional punishment. The discussion further examines statutory provisions under the BNS that incorporate community service, alongside procedural support under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Judicial trends both prior to and following codification are analysed to trace the transition from informal judicial innovation to structured statutory recognition. The chapter also evaluates key challenges in enforcement, including infrastructural deficits, monitoring issues, lack of supervision and doctrinal ambiguities, judge do not know how to give a judgement and the hours, and time are not clearly stated. It concludes that while community service has the potential to transform sentencing practices in India, its success depends on consistent application, institutional support, and principled judicial discretion.