Spreading False Statements or Rumours: Section 353 BNS vs Section 505 IPC

Making, publishing or circulating a false statement, rumour or report that could provoke mutiny, cause public fear or disorder, or promote enmity between groups in India is punished under Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the direct successor to Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code, at the same punishment but now naming "false information" and "electronic means" explicitly; a separate, genuinely new offence under Section 197(1)(d) BNS targets false or misleading information that jeopardises India's sovereignty, unity, integrity or security.

The situation

A person makes, publishes or circulates a statement, rumour or report — orally, in print, or online — that is false. Depending on what the statement says and what effect it is calculated or likely to have, it may fall under one of the three tiers of Section 353 BNS (public mischief affecting the armed forces, public order, or inter-group relations), or under the newer, narrower Section 197(1)(d) BNS if the false information specifically jeopardises India's sovereignty, unity, integrity or security.

Old law vs new law at a glance

What the law requires now, step by step

Step 1 — Identify whether the statement engages the mutiny/public-order tier

Section 353(1) BNS states:

"Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, false information, rumour, or report, including through electronic means--- (a) with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer, soldier, sailor or airman in the Army, Navy or Air Force of India to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such; or (b) with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquillity; or (c) with intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."

Section 505(1) IPC covers the identical three limbs — mutiny/duty, public fear leading to an offence, and inter-class incitement — at the identical three-year punishment, but its object is only "any statement, rumour or report," without the words "false information," and it does not name "electronic means."

Step 2 — Identify whether the statement is the narrower inter-group-enmity tier

Section 353(2) BNS states:

"Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement or report containing false information, rumour or alarming news, including through electronic means, with intent to create or promote, or which is likely to create or promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."

This mirrors Section 505(2) IPC ("any statement or report containing rumour or alarming news") at the same three-year band, with the same "false information" and "electronic means" additions found in sub-section (1).

Step 3 — Check whether the conduct happened at a place of worship

Section 353(3) BNS raises the punishment for a sub-section (2) offence committed "in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies," to imprisonment up to five years and mandatory fine — identical to Section 505(3) IPC.

Step 4 — Check the good-faith exception

Section 353 BNS's exception states:

"It does not amount to an offence, within the meaning of this section, when the person making, publishing or circulating any such statement, false information, rumour or report, has reasonable grounds for believing that such statement, false information, rumour or report is true and makes, publishes or circulates it in good faith and without any such intent as aforesaid."

Section 505 IPC's exception uses near-identical wording, without the words "false information" (matching the object of the operative sub-sections in each code).

Step 5 — For national-security-flavoured false information, check Section 197(1)(d) BNS

Section 197(1)(d) BNS is a distinct, narrower provision:

"makes or publishes false or misleading information, jeopardising the sovereignty, unity and integrity or security of India, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."

Unlike Section 353 BNS, this limb does not require intent or likelihood to cause mutiny, public disorder, or inter-group enmity — its trigger is that the false or misleading information jeopardises sovereignty, unity, integrity or security. No provision anywhere in the IPC punishes this conduct as such; Section 505 IPC's closest limb, sub-section (1)(b) (fear/alarm leading to an offence against the State), requires the additional element that the fear induces someone to commit an offence, which Section 197(1)(d) BNS's text does not require.

Step 6 — Confirm sanction before a court can take cognizance

Section 217(1)(a) BNSS requires Central or State Government sanction for an offence under Section 353(1) BNS. Section 217(2)(a) BNSS requires Central Government, State Government, or District Magistrate sanction for an offence under Section 353(2), Section 353(3), or Section 197 BNS — which includes the new Section 197(1)(d). Section 196(1)(a) CrPC required identical sanction for Section 505(1) IPC, and Section 196(1A) CrPC required identical sanction for Section 505(2)/(3) IPC.

What changed — and what did not

• Expanded: Section 353(1) and (2) BNS add "false information" as an object of the offence, alongside "statement," "rumour" and "report," and make "electronic means" an explicit mode of commission — neither term appears in Section 505(1)/(2) IPC.
• Identical: The punishment for every tier is unchanged — three years for the mutiny/public-order and inter-group tiers, five years plus mandatory fine for the place-of-worship enhancement.
• Identical: The good-faith exception is carried forward in substance.
• New provision: Section 197(1)(d) BNS creates a standalone offence for false or misleading information jeopardising India's sovereignty, unity, integrity or security, with no IPC equivalent and a narrower trigger than the Section 353 BNS / Section 505 IPC public-mischief provisions.
• Identical: The two-tier sanction structure (Central/State Government for sub-section (1); Central/State Government/District Magistrate for sub-section (2)/(3) and the national-integration offence) carries forward unchanged, renumbered from CrPC 196 to BNSS 217.
• Identical: Cognizable/bailable/court classification is unchanged at every tier — sub-section (1) is non-cognizable and non-bailable; sub-sections (2) and (3) are cognizable and non-bailable; all are triable by any Magistrate.

Which law applies to your case

If the statement, rumour or report was made, published or circulated before 1 July 2024, Section 505 IPC governs, not Section 353 or 197 BNS. Section 358(2) BNS preserves this: the repeal of the IPC does not affect "any penalty, or punishment incurred in respect of any offences committed against the Code so repealed," and such a proceeding "may be instituted, continued or enforced... as if that Code had not been repealed." For the full rule, see Which law applies to an offence committed before 1 July 2024.

Practical checklist

For the person affected or accused:

• Note the exact date the statement was made, published or circulated — this fixes whether Section 505 IPC or Section 353/197 BNS governs.
• Identify which limb is engaged — mutiny/duty, public fear leading to an offence, inter-group enmity, or the narrower sovereignty/security limb under Section 197(1)(d) — since each carries a different sanction authority.
• Preserve the exact content, including whether it was communicated electronically, since Section 353 BNS's explicit "electronic means" language is new relative to Section 505 IPC.

For the advocate:

• Confirm which sanction authority applies under Section 217 BNSS (or Section 196 CrPC for pre-1 July 2024 conduct) before the court proceeds — sub-section (1) needs only Central/State Government sanction, while sub-section (2)/(3) and Section 197 need Central/State Government or District Magistrate sanction.
• Where the charge is framed under Section 197(1)(d) BNS, verify the pleaded facts show the information jeopardises sovereignty, unity, integrity or security specifically — this is a distinct and narrower element than the public-fear or inter-group-enmity elements of Section 353 BNS.
• Consider the good-faith exception where the accused had reasonable grounds to believe the statement was true and acted without the intent specified in the relevant limb.

Frequently asked questions

What replaced Section 505 IPC for spreading false statements or rumours?

Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). It keeps the same three-tier structure as Section 505 IPC — statements that could cause mutiny or disregard of duty by armed forces, statements likely to cause fear or public disorder, and statements likely to promote enmity between groups — at the same punishment: three years (five years if made at a place of worship, with mandatory fine for that tier).

Does Section 353 BNS cover fake news on social media?

Yes, more explicitly than before. Section 353(1) BNS covers "any statement, false information, rumour, or report, including through electronic means" — adding both "false information" as a distinct object and "electronic means" explicitly, neither of which appeared in Section 505 IPC's text.

Is there a new offence for fake news that endangers national security?

Yes. Section 197(1)(d) BNS punishes making or publishing "false or misleading information, jeopardising the sovereignty, unity and integrity or security of India," with imprisonment up to three years, fine, or both. This clause has no counterpart anywhere in the IPC — it sits inside Section 197 BNS, alongside the national-integration imputation offences that replaced Section 153B IPC.

Do I need government permission to be prosecuted, or can anyone file a complaint?

Prosecution requires sanction, but which authority depends on the specific limb. Section 217(1)(a) BNSS requires Central or State Government sanction for an offence under Section 353(1) BNS. Section 217(2)(a) BNSS requires Central Government, State Government, or District Magistrate sanction for Section 353(2), 353(3), or Section 197 (which includes the new 197(1)(d)) BNS.

Is the good-faith exception still available?

Yes. Section 353 BNS carries an exception, worded almost identically to Section 505 IPC's exception, that the conduct does not amount to an offence where the person had "reasonable grounds for believing that such statement, false information, rumour or report is true" and made, published or circulated it "in good faith and without any such intent as aforesaid."

Has the punishment for spreading rumours that cause public fear increased?

No. On the text read, all three tiers of Section 353 BNS carry the identical punishment to the corresponding tier of Section 505 IPC: three years for sub-sections (1) and (2), five years and fine for sub-section (3) (place of worship). The change is in scope — the addition of "false information" as an object and "electronic means" as a mode — not in sentence length.

Related on Veritect

• Which law applies to an offence committed before 1 July 2024
• Posts That Promote Enmity Between Groups: Section 196 BNS vs Section 153A IPC
• Offences Relating to Religion: Section 298-302 BNS vs Section 295-298 IPC
• IPC to BNS: Complete Section Mapping
• Section 500-502 IPC vs BNS — Defamation
• Section 153A IPC vs Section 196 BNS — Promoting Enmity Between Different Groups
• Section 505 IPC vs Section 353 BNS — Statements Conducing to Public Mischief
• Section 153B IPC vs Section 197 BNS — Imputations Prejudicial to National Integration
• Sections 349–358 IPC vs Sections 128–136 BNS — Assault and Criminal Force

Statutory sources

• Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Section 505 (repealed w.e.f. 1 July 2024)
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Sections 353, 197, 358
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — Section 196 and First Schedule entries for sections 504-505 (repealed w.e.f. 1 July 2024)
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 217, and First Schedule entries for sections 197 and 353 (Gazette of India, 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.