Sections 117–120 IPC vs Sections 57–60 BNS — Abetment by the Public and Concealing a Design to Commit an Offence

In India, Sections 57 to 60 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced Sections 117 to 120 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) on 1 July 2024. Abetting an offence by the public or by more than ten persons now carries up to seven years and mandatory fine, against three years under Section 117 IPC; the concealment offences are largely unchanged.

At a glance

The CrPC First Schedule classified Sections 117 to 120 IPC in the same way, row for row, so the classification has not changed. The general abetment provisions that sit before these sections are Sections 107 to 116 IPC, now Sections 45 to 56 BNS; Sections 107 to 109 IPC (Sections 45 to 49 BNS) have their own page: Sections 107-109 IPC vs Sections 45-49 BNS — Abetment.

What changed

• Modified — Section 57 BNS (IPC 117): the punishment "imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both" becomes "imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine". Two changes follow: the maximum more than doubles, and fine is no longer an alternative to imprisonment. The words of the offence ("the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding ten") and the Illustration (the placard instigating a sect of more than ten members to attack a procession) are unchanged. The BNSS First Schedule entry for Section 57 reads "Imprisonment which may extend to 7 years and fine" (bnss_gazette.txt 9252-9254).
• Expanded — Section 59 BNS (IPC 119): Section 119 IPC covered a public servant who "voluntarily conceals, by any act or illegal omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool". Section 59 BNS reads "by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool". A comma is added after "being a public servant", the three punishment limbs are lettered (a), (b) and (c), and the Illustration reads "with intent to so facilitate". The Illustration still ends "Here A has by an illegal omission concealed the existence of B's design".
• Minor edit — Section 58 BNS (IPC 118): the India Code text of Section 118 IPC, as substituted by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Act 10 of 2009, s. 51, w.e.f. 27 October 2009), already read "voluntarily conceals by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool". Section 58 BNS keeps those words, adding a comma after "omission". The punishment is re-set as clause (a) (offence committed: up to seven years) and clause (b) (not committed: up to three years), followed by "and shall also be liable to fine" in place of "and in either case shall also be liable to fine". The Illustration (a false report sending the Magistrate to the wrong village) is unchanged.
• Minor edit — Section 60 BNS (IPC 120): the words of the offence, including "by any act or illegal omission", are unchanged, and there is no reference to encryption. The punishment is split into clause (a) (one-fourth if the offence is committed) and clause (b) (one-eighth if not). The India Code text of Section 120 prints "one-eight"; Section 60 reads "one-eighth".
• Identical — classification: the BNSS First Schedule gives Sections 57 to 60 the same cognizability, bail and trial-court entries that the CrPC First Schedule gave Sections 117 to 120 IPC.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 117 IPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

Whoever abets the commission of an offence by the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding ten, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

Extract, Section 57 BNS:

Whoever abets the commission of an offence by the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding ten, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine.

Extract, Section 59 BNS (opening words):

Whoever, being a public servant, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals, by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool, the existence of a design to commit such offence, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design shall,––

How it works — the ingredients

Section 57 BNS — abetting the public or more than ten persons

1. Abetment — the accused must "abet", in the sense given by the general abetment provisions (instigation, engaging in a conspiracy, or intentional aid: Section 45 BNS, formerly Section 107 IPC).
2. Of the commission of an offence — what is abetted must be an offence.
3. By a wide audience — the abetment must be of the commission of the offence "by the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding ten". The Illustration shows the pattern: a placard in a public place instigating a sect of more than ten members to attack another sect's procession. The Illustration says A "has committed the offence defined in this section" without stating that the attack took place.

Sections 58 to 60 BNS — concealing a design

All three share a structure:

1. A mental element — "intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate" the commission of the offence.
2. Conduct — either voluntary concealment of "the existence of a design to commit such offence", or making "any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design".
3. The means — "by any act or omission" in Sections 58 and 59, which also name "the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool"; "by any act or illegal omission" in Section 60.
4. Punishment keyed to the offence concealed and whether it was committed.

The Illustrations show the two forms of conduct. Under Section 58, A, knowing a dacoity is planned at B, falsely tells the Magistrate it will take place at C; the dacoity is committed at B and A is punishable — a false representation. Under Section 59, a police officer legally bound to report designs to commit robbery omits to report B's design, intending to facilitate it — concealment by omission.

Omission — what the change in Section 59 means: Section 2(15) BNS defines "illegal" to cover everything that is an offence, prohibited by law or a ground for a civil action, and a person is "legally bound to do" whatever it is illegal in him to omit. Section 3(4) BNS provides that words referring to acts done "extend also to illegal omissions". On a reading of the text, by deleting "illegal" before "omission", Section 59 no longer requires the prosecution to show that the public servant's omission was itself illegal; the Illustration, which describes an illegal omission, remains an example within the wider words. Whether the change alters outcomes will depend on judicial construction, which has not yet been read for this page.

Neighbouring provisions: where a design is not merely concealed but agreed upon, Section 61 BNS (criminal conspiracy, formerly Sections 120A and 120B IPC) applies. Where the offence abetted is not committed, the general rules in Sections 55 and 56 BNS (formerly 115 and 116 IPC) fix the punishment. Section 150 BNS separately punishes concealing with intent to facilitate a design to wage war against the Government of India.

What this means in practice

For the investigating officer

• Because Section 57 BNS now carries a maximum of seven years, it sits outside Section 173(3) BNSS, which allows a preliminary enquiry, with prior permission from an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, only for cognizable offences "punishable for three years or more but less than seven years". In Imran Pratapgadhi the Supreme Court observed that all the offences alleged except Section 57 were punishable with less than seven years, and that Section 57 was, on the face of it, not applicable, so the preliminary-enquiry option was available (para 28).
• Classification follows the offence abetted. Record which offence the accused is said to have abetted or concealed, since bail and the trial court turn on it.

For the accused and defence advocate

• For Section 57, test whether the material shows abetment of a specific offence by "the public generally" or by more than ten persons. The Supreme Court quashed an FIR invoking Section 57 where it could not see how that element was met.
• For Sections 58 to 60, the prosecution must prove the intention or knowledge to facilitate. The false-representation limb requires that the accused "knows" the representation to be false.
• For conduct before 1 July 2024, the three-year maximum in Section 117 IPC governs on a reading of Article 20(1) (see below).

For public servants

• Section 59 applies only to an offence "which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent". A public servant with such a duty who stays silent about a known design now falls within the words "act or omission" without a separate inquiry into whether the omission was illegal.

Judgments that still matter

Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat and Anr., [2025] 3 S.C.R. 1309 (2025 INSC 410) — 28 March 2025. Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan JJ. (judgment authored by Oka J.) heard an appeal by a Member of the Rajya Sabha against a Gujarat High Court order refusing to quash an FIR registered over a video clip with a poem recited in the background. The FIR invoked Sections 196, 197(1), 302, 299, 57 and 3(5) BNS (para 3). Setting out Section 57 BNS, the Court said: "We fail to understand, even if it is assumed that the appellant has committed some offence, how he has abetted the commission of an offence by the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding ten" (para 19). It observed that all the offences alleged, other than Section 57, were punishable with less than seven years and that Section 57 was, "on the face of it", not applicable, so the preliminary-enquiry option in Section 173(3) BNSS had been available (para 28). The appeal was allowed; the High Court's order and the FIR, with further proceedings, were quashed and set aside (para 44). It applies the new section directly.

No Supreme Court judgment construing Sections 118 to 120 IPC, or Sections 58 to 60 BNS, was located and read for this page. The operative words of those sections are repeated in the BNS, so on a reading of the text any judgment construing the IPC words would remain relevant to them.

Which law applies to your case

Section 358(2) BNS keeps alive any penalty or punishment incurred under the IPC and allows proceedings to continue "as if that Code had not been repealed"; on a reading of that provision, abetment or concealment before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 117 to 120 IPC. Investigations, inquiries and trials pending on that date continue under the CrPC (Section 531(2)(a) BNSS). Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars a penalty greater than the law in force when the offence was committed, so, on a reading of that Article, the seven-year maximum and mandatory fine in Section 57 cannot be applied to earlier conduct. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNS equivalent of Section 117 IPC? Section 57 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 117 IPC. It punishes whoever abets the commission of an offence by the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding ten. The punishment is now imprisonment of either description up to seven years and fine; Section 117 IPC allowed up to three years, or fine, or both.

Which BNS sections replace Sections 118, 119 and 120 IPC? Section 58 BNS replaces Section 118 IPC (concealing a design to commit an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), Section 59 BNS replaces Section 119 IPC (a public servant concealing a design to commit an offence it is his duty to prevent), and Section 60 BNS replaces Section 120 IPC (concealing a design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment). The punishments in Sections 58 to 60 are the same as in Sections 118 to 120 IPC.

Is abetment by the public under Section 57 BNS bailable and cognizable? The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 does not fix one answer. Section 57 BNS is cognizable or non-cognizable, and bailable or non-bailable, according as the offence abetted is, and it is triable by the court that tries the offence abetted. The CrPC First Schedule classified Section 117 IPC the same way.

What changed for public servants under Section 59 BNS? Section 119 IPC covered a public servant who concealed a design "by any act or illegal omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool". Section 59 BNS drops the word "illegal", so it reaches concealment by any act or omission. The three punishment limits — one-half of the longest term if the offence is committed, up to ten years if it is punishable with death or life imprisonment, and one-fourth if it is not committed — are unchanged.

Does concealing a plan using encryption count as an offence? Yes, where the other elements are present. Sections 58 and 59 BNS expressly cover voluntary concealment "by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool" of the existence of a design to commit the offence. Section 60 BNS, which deals with offences punishable with imprisonment only, does not contain those words; it covers concealment "by any act or illegal omission".

Did the Supreme Court apply Section 57 BNS after the new law came into force? Yes. In Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat (2025 INSC 410), decided on 28 March 2025, an FIR had invoked Section 57 BNS along with other sections over a poem posted on social media. The Court said it failed to understand how the appellant had abetted the commission of an offence by the public generally or by more than ten persons (para 19), and quashed the FIR (para 44).

Which law applies to abetment by the public committed before 1 July 2024? Section 358(2) BNS saves any penalty or punishment incurred under the IPC and lets proceedings continue as if it had not been repealed, so on a reading of that text conduct before 1 July 2024 is charged under Section 117 IPC. Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars a penalty greater than the law in force at the time of the offence, so, on a reading of that Article, the seven-year maximum in Section 57 BNS cannot be imposed for earlier conduct.

Related

• Sections 107-109 IPC vs Sections 45-49 BNS — Abetment
• Section 120A-120B IPC vs Section 61 BNS — Criminal Conspiracy
• Section 153A IPC vs Section 196 BNS — Promoting Enmity Between Different Groups
• Hate speech and promoting enmity — BNS 196 vs IPC 153A
• Offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies
• IPC to BNS master table

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 2(15), 3(4), 45, 55 to 61, 150 and 358.
• Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Sections 117 to 120, with the footnote to Section 118 recording the 2009 substitution.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 173(3) and 531, and the First Schedule entries for Sections 57 to 60(b) BNS.
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: First Schedule entries for Sections 117 to 120 IPC, with Ditto entries traced.
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
• Judgment read in full text: Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat and Anr. (Diary_3511-2025_Judgment.md; citation confirmed from report PDF 2025_3_1309_1349_EN.pdf).

This page explains the statutory text and the judgments cited as they stand. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult an advocate.