Under Indian law, a general attempt to commit suicide is no longer a standalone criminal offence. Section 309 IPC punished any attempt to suicide with up to one year's imprisonment; the only BNS provision on attempted suicide, Section 226 BNS, punishes it only to compel or restrain a public servant from official duty — everything else Section 309 IPC covered has no BNS successor found in this research.
The situation
A person attempts to take their own life and survives, and the question arises whether the attempt itself is a criminal offence, separately from any question of what drove them to it or who, if anyone, may have abetted it. Under the old law the answer was a flat yes, subject to the one-year maximum in Section 309 IPC. Under the new law, the answer depends entirely on the purpose of the attempt.
Old law vs new law at a glance
| Issue | Section 309 IPC | Section 226 BNS | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope of the offence | Any attempt to commit suicide, for any reason | Attempt to commit suicide only "with the intent to compel or restrain any public servant from discharging his official duty" | Scope drastically narrowed |
| A general attempt to suicide, unrelated to a public servant | Punishable, up to 1 year | No provision found in the BNS covering this | Dropped as a standalone offence |
| Punishment within the surviving scope | Simple imprisonment up to 1 year, or fine, or both | Simple imprisonment up to 1 year, or fine, or both, or community service | Community service added as an explicit sentencing option |
| Abetment of another person's suicide | A separate offence — Section 306 IPC (not Section 309 itself) | A separate offence — Section 108 BNS (general) | Both codes keep abetment distinct from the attempt provision; Section 108 BNS repeats Section 306 IPC's text and punishment (up to 10 years, plus fine) |
| Abetment of suicide of a child or person of unsound mind | Section 305 IPC — its own section (person under eighteen years, insane person, delirious person, idiot, or person in a state of intoxication): death, life, or up to 10 years, plus fine | Section 107 BNS — child, person of unsound mind, delirious person, or person in a state of intoxication: death, life, or up to 10 years, plus fine | Standalone section in both codes; punishment unchanged; the categories of person are reworded ("child" is defined in Section 2(3) BNS as a person below eighteen years) |
| Bail and cognizability (BNS classification) | — (not sourced for the IPC side) | s.226: Non-cognizable, Bailable, Any Magistrate. s.108 (abetment): Cognizable, Non-bailable, Court of Session. s.107 (abetment, child/unsound mind): Cognizable, Non-bailable, Court of Session | Per First Schedule to BNSS — the attempt itself is treated far less severely than abetting someone else's suicide |
What the law requires now, step by step
Step 1 — What Section 309 IPC punished
Section 309 IPC read:
"Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both."
On its text, this covered any attempt to commit suicide, whatever the person's reason, as long as an act towards the attempt was done.
Step 2 — What Section 226 BNS punishes
Section 226 BNS carries a materially different, narrower definition:
"Whoever attempts to commit suicide with the intent to compel or restrain any public servant from discharging his official duty shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both, or with community service."
The offence now requires a specific intent — to compel or restrain a public servant from discharging official duty — that Section 309 IPC did not require at all. An attempt made for a reason unconnected to a public servant's official duty does not fall within the words of Section 226 BNS.
Step 3 — Check whether any other BNS section covers a general attempt to suicide
A search of the full Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 text for the word "suicide" turns up five provisions: Section 86(a) (the definition of "cruelty" for Section 85, which includes conduct likely to drive a woman to commit suicide), the Illustration to Exception 5 of Section 101 (abetting a child's suicide as abetment of murder), Section 107 (abetment of suicide of a child or person of unsound mind), Section 108 (abetment of suicide), and Section 226 (the public-servant-compulsion provision above). None of them, on its words, punishes a person for attempting to take their own life for a reason other than compelling or restraining a public servant. This guide does not go further than that text-based search; it does not assert a broader policy conclusion about decriminalisation, and it does not draw on or cite the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which sits outside the Bare Act library used for this series.
Step 4 — Distinguish the attempt itself from abetting someone else's attempt
Section 226 BNS concerns only the person who attempts suicide themselves, for the narrow purpose described. It has no bearing on a separate person who abets, or assists, another person's suicide — that remains punishable under Section 108 BNS (general) or the more severely punished Section 107 BNS (where the person who commits suicide is a child, of unsound mind, delirious or in a state of intoxication), regardless of whether the underlying attempt falls within Section 226 BNS's narrow scope or outside it entirely.
Step 5 — Check the bail position
The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 classifies Section 226 BNS as non-cognizable and bailable, triable by any Magistrate — the least severe classification available. Section 108 BNS (abetment of suicide) and Section 107 BNS (abetment of suicide of a child or person of unsound mind) are both classified cognizable and non-bailable, triable only by the Court of Session. The gap between the attempt provision and the abetment provisions is not confined to the maximum sentence; it extends to whether the police can arrest without a warrant and whether bail is a matter of right.
What changed — and what did not
- Abolished (as a general offence): attempting suicide for any reason other than compelling or restraining a public servant from official duty — no BNS provision punishing this was found.
- Narrowed: the one attempt-to-suicide offence that does survive, Section 226 BNS, requires a specific intent that Section 309 IPC never required.
- New provision (sentencing option): community service, listed in Section 226 BNS as an alternative punishment, with no equivalent in Section 309 IPC's text.
- Carried over: abetment of another person's suicide remains a distinct, separately punished offence under both codes — Section 108 BNS repeats Section 306 IPC, and Section 107 BNS carries over Section 305 IPC with the same punishment and reworded categories of person.
Which law applies to your case
For the offence and its punishment, the law in force on the date of the attempt governs, not the date of any later FIR or trial. An attempt made before 1 July 2024 is governed by Section 309 IPC's general one-year-maximum offence; an attempt made on or after that date falls within the criminal law only if it meets the narrow public-servant-compulsion intent in Section 226 BNS. The full transition rule, including how pending proceedings are treated, is at Offence Before 1 July 2024: Which Law Applies?.
Practical checklist
For the person affected or their family:
- Understand that, on the text read for this guide, a general attempt to suicide made on or after 1 July 2024 does not itself fall within Section 226 BNS unless the specific public-servant-compulsion intent is present.
- If the attempt was intended to compel or restrain a public servant from discharging official duty, Section 226 BNS applies, with a maximum of one year, fine, or community service.
- Keep in mind that abetment of a completed suicide by another person remains separately punishable — this guide does not change that.
For the advocate:
- Before framing or resisting a Section 226 BNS charge, confirm the intent element — compelling or restraining a public servant from discharging official duty — is actually made out; the section does not apply to a general attempt.
- For an attempt occurring before 1 July 2024, cite Section 309 IPC, not Section 226 BNS.
- Where the matter concerns abetment rather than the attempt itself, cite Section 108 BNS (or Section 107 BNS for a child or person of unsound mind) and see the dedicated abetment-of-suicide guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is attempting suicide still a crime in India under the new law?
Only in one narrow circumstance. Section 226 BNS punishes an attempt to commit suicide made "with the intent to compel or restrain any public servant from discharging his official duty." No BNS provision found in this research punishes a general attempt to suicide made for any other reason — Section 309 IPC, which did punish a general attempt, has no broad successor.
What exactly does Section 226 BNS punish?
Section 226 BNS punishes attempting to commit suicide specifically with the intent to compel or restrain a public servant from discharging official duty, with simple imprisonment up to one year, or fine, or both, or community service. It does not, on its text, cover an attempt to suicide made for any other reason.
Does the BNS explain why the general offence in Section 309 IPC was narrowed?
No reasoning is stated in the text of Section 226 BNS itself, and this guide does not speculate on legislative intent — it reports only what the section does and does not cover, compared with Section 309 IPC.
Is abetting someone else's suicide still a crime under the new law?
Yes, and this is unaffected by the narrowing of the attempt provision. Section 108 BNS punishes abetting the suicide of any person with imprisonment up to ten years, plus fine, and Section 107 BNS separately punishes abetting the suicide of a child or a person of unsound mind, with death, life imprisonment, or up to ten years. Both replace the abetment-of-suicide framework under the IPC. See the dedicated guide on abetment of suicide.
Which law applies to an attempt to suicide made before 1 July 2024?
Section 309 IPC, with its general scope and one-year maximum, governs an attempt made before 1 July 2024. Section 226 BNS, with its narrow public-servant-compulsion scope, applies only from that date onward. See the full transition rule at Offence Before 1 July 2024: Which Law Applies?.
Is Section 226 BNS a bailable offence?
Yes. The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 classifies Section 226 BNS as non-cognizable and bailable, triable by any Magistrate. By contrast, abetment of suicide under Section 108 BNS is cognizable, non-bailable, and triable only by the Court of Session, and abetment of suicide of a child or person of unsound mind under Section 107 BNS carries the same cognizable, non-bailable, Court-of-Session classification.
Related on Veritect
- Offence Before 1 July 2024: Which Law Applies?
- Section 306 IPC — Abetment of Suicide
- A Fight Leaves Someone Injured: Section 115-117 BNS vs Section 319-325 IPC
- IPC to BNS: Complete Section Mapping
- Sections 107-109 IPC vs Sections 45-49 BNS — Abetment
Statutory sources
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Section 309 (Attempt to commit suicide)
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 226 (Attempt to commit suicide to compel or restrain exercise of lawful power); Section 107 (Abetment of suicide of child or person of unsound mind); Section 108 (Abetment of suicide) — text cross-checked against the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part II Section 1 (CG-DL-E-25122023-250883)
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — First Schedule (Classification of Offences), entries for Section 226, 107 and 108 BNS, from the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part II Section 1 (CG-DL-E-25122023-250884)
This guide explains the statutory text of the BNS, BNSS and BSA as enacted. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.