Sections 121–130 IPC vs Sections 147–158 BNS — Offences Against the State

In India, Sections 147 to 158 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced the offences against the State in Sections 121 to 130 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) from 1 July 2024. Punishments are unchanged; the foreign-State offences now cover "any foreign State at peace with" the Government of India.

At a glance

The CrPC First Schedule classified Sections 121 to 130 IPC the same way (tracing its "Ditto" entries to the Section 121 and Section 124A rows), so the classification is unchanged.

What changed

• Modified — Section 153 (IPC 125): "the Government of any Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India" becomes "the Government of any foreign State at peace with the Government of India". On the words, the offence now reaches war against any foreign State, not only an Asiatic one; the words "in alliance or" are gone, so it turns on the foreign State being at peace with India. The punishment is unchanged.
• Modified — Section 154 (IPC 126): "the territories of any Power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India" becomes "the territories of any foreign State at peace with the Government of India". Punishment and forfeiture are unchanged.
• Minor edit — Section 148 (IPC 121A): "Whoever within or without India conspires" becomes "Whoever within or without and beyond India conspires", and the cross-reference "section 121" becomes "section 147". The Explanation (no act or illegal omission need follow the conspiracy) is unchanged.
• Minor edit — Section 155 (IPC 127): "sections 125 and 126" becomes "sections 153 and 154".
• Minor edit — Section 150 (IPC 123): "Whoever, by any act" loses its comma ("Whoever by any act").
• Minor edit — Section 158 (IPC 130): a comma is added before "shall be punished". The Explanation on State prisoners and prisoners of war on parole is unchanged.
• Minor edit — headings of Sections 147, 149 and 151 (IPC 121, 122, 124): the section text and punishments are the same, but the marginal headings change: "Waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against the Government of India" becomes "Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against Government of India"; Section 149's and Section 151's headings drop "the" ("against Government of India"; "restrain exercise of any lawful power").
• Identical — Sections 156 and 157 (IPC 128 and 129): same words, headings and punishments.
• Replaced — IPC 124A: see the separate sedition page. Section 152 BNS sits in the same chapter but is not a re-enactment of Section 124A.
• Chapter: IPC Chapter VI becomes BNS Chapter VII, still headed "Of offences against the State". That renumbering matters for the sanction bar, which is written by chapter (below).

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 125 IPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

Whoever wages war against the Government of any Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

Extract, Section 153 BNS:

Whoever wages war against the Government of any foreign State at peace with the Government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

Extract, Section 148 BNS:

Whoever within or without and beyond India conspires to commit any of the offences punishable by section 147, or conspires to overawe, by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force, the Central Government or any State Government, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

How it works — the offences in sequence

The chapter covers a sequence from design to war, then two adjacent groups.

1. Conspiracy (Section 148) — conspiring, in or outside India, to commit a Section 147 offence, or to overawe the Central or a State Government by criminal force or its show. The Explanation makes the conspiracy complete without any act or omission in pursuance of it.
2. Preparation (Section 149) — collecting men, arms or ammunition, or otherwise preparing to wage war, with the intention of waging or being prepared to wage war against the Government of India.
3. Concealment (Section 150) — concealing, by act or illegal omission, the existence of a design to wage war, intending or knowing it likely to facilitate the war.
4. The war itself (Section 147) — waging, attempting to wage or abetting the waging of war against the Government of India. The Illustration: joining an insurrection against the Government of India is the offence.
5. The President and Governors (Section 151) — assaulting, wrongfully restraining or overawing by criminal force the President or a State Governor, to induce or compel the exercise or non-exercise of any lawful power.

Foreign States (Sections 153 to 155) — waging war against, or committing or preparing depredation on the territories of, a foreign State at peace with India, and receiving property taken in either.

State prisoners and prisoners of war (Sections 156 to 158) — a public servant with custody who voluntarily allows (156) or negligently suffers (157) escape, and anyone who aids escape, rescues, harbours or resists recapture (158). Under the Explanation to Section 158, a prisoner on parole who goes beyond the permitted limits in India is said to escape from lawful custody.

What this means in practice

For the prosecution and investigating agency

• Sanction first: under Section 217(1) BNSS, no court may take cognizance of any offence punishable under Chapter VII of the BNS, a criminal conspiracy to commit it, or abetment of the kind in Section 47 BNS, "except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or of the State Government". Section 196(1) CrPC imposed the same bar for IPC Chapter VI and abetment under Section 108A IPC.
• Charge the right section by date: offences before 1 July 2024 go under Sections 121 to 130 IPC; later offences under Sections 147 to 158 BNS (see below).
• Section 153 and 154 charges must now show that the foreign State was "at peace with" the Government of India; the IPC's alternative of an ally is gone.

For members of the public

• Section 33(1)(iv) BNSS requires every person aware of the commission of, or of another's intention to commit, an offence under Sections 147 to 154 or Section 158 BNS to give information forthwith to the nearest Magistrate or police officer, unless he proves a reasonable excuse. Section 39(1)(i) CrPC listed Sections 121 to 126 and Section 130 IPC.

For the defence advocate

• Check the sanction order: its absence bars cognizance under Section 217(1) BNSS.
• Section 157 (negligent escape) is the only bailable offence in the chapter; every other offence in Sections 147 to 158 is non-bailable.

Judgments that still matter

State (N.C.T. of Delhi) v. Navjot Sandhu @ Afsan Guru, [2005] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 79 (2005 INSC 333) — 4 August 2005. In the appeals arising from the December 2001 attack on Parliament House, P. Venkatarama Reddi and P.P. Naolekar JJ. (judgment by Venkatarama Reddi J.) construed "waging war" in Section 121 IPC (para 18, part (xi)). The Court held that war in Section 121 is not to be understood in the international-law sense of inter-country war, and that the Illustration shows insurrection against the Government is a form of it. It said the "most important" criterion is "the intention or purpose behind the defiance or rising against the Government", and that "though every terrorist act does not amount to waging war, certain terrorist acts can also constitute the offence". It cautioned that the expression "should not be stretched too far" to cover every disruption of public order, and held that the word "whoever" reaches foreign nationals. It found the attack on Parliament to be waging or attempting to wage war. In the result (para 22), Mohd. Afzal's appeal was dismissed and his death sentence confirmed; Shaukat Hussain Guru was convicted only under Section 123 IPC (concealing a design to wage war) and sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment, his other convictions being set aside (para 19); and the State's appeals against the acquittals of S.A.R. Gilani and Afsan Guru were dismissed. The words construed are repeated in Sections 147 and 150 BNS.

Mohammed Ajmal Mohammad Amir Kasab @ Abu Mujahid v. State of Maharashtra, [2012] 8 S.C.R. 295 (2012 INSC 357) — 29 August 2012. Hearing the appeal arising from the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, Aftab Alam and Chandramauli Kr. Prasad JJ. (judgment by Aftab Alam J.; Prasad J. agreeing, with a short concurrence) held that "Government of India" in Section 121 means "the State or interchangeably the people of the country as the repository of the sovereignty of India" (para 546), not only the executive in office (para 545). Relying on Navjot Sandhu, it said that a terrorist act and waging war "may have some overlapping features" but one is not always the other, and that Chapter IV of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Chapter VI of the Penal Code cover different areas (para 550). It held the appellant "rightly convicted under Sections 121, 121A and 122" (para 553), and the appeals were dismissed. The Court also noted that Section 39 CrPC read with Section 176 IPC made it an offence to omit to inform of Sections 121 to 126 offences (para 544); on a reading of the text, the corresponding provisions are now Section 33 BNSS and Section 211 BNS. Section 147 BNS keeps the words "Government of India" that the Court construed.

Which law applies to your case

Section 358(2) BNS keeps alive any penalty or punishment incurred under the IPC and lets proceedings be instituted, continued or enforced "as if that Code had not been repealed"; on a reading of that provision, an offence against the State committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 121 to 130 IPC. Proceedings pending on that date continue under the CrPC, including its sanction provision in Section 196 (Section 531(2)(a) BNSS). Because the punishments are unchanged, on a reading of Article 20(1) of the Constitution its bar on a greater penalty is not engaged by these sections. Article 20(1) also bars conviction except for violation of a law in force when the act was done; on a reading of that Article, pre-1 July 2024 conduct that falls within the wider words of Section 153 or 154 BNS but outside Sections 125 or 126 IPC cannot be charged under the new sections. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNS equivalent of Section 121 IPC? Section 147 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 121 IPC in the same words: whoever wages war against the Government of India, attempts to wage it, or abets its waging, is punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and fine. The Illustration, that joining an insurrection against the Government of India is the offence, is also carried over.

Has the punishment for waging war changed under the BNS? No. Leaving aside Section 152, which does not re-enact Section 124A, every punishment in Sections 147 to 158 BNS matches its IPC counterpart in Sections 121 to 130. Section 147 keeps death or life imprisonment and fine; Sections 148, 149, 156 and 158 keep life or up to ten years and fine; Section 150 keeps up to ten years and fine; and Section 157 keeps simple imprisonment up to three years and fine.

What changed in the offence of waging war against a foreign State? Section 125 IPC covered war against 'any Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with' the Government of India. Section 153 BNS covers war against the Government of 'any foreign State at peace with' the Government of India, so the offence is no longer confined to Asiatic Powers and no longer mentions allies. Section 154 BNS makes the same change for depredation on foreign territory, and Section 155 renumbers its cross-references.

Are offences against the State bailable? Only one is. The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 lists Section 157 BNS, a public servant negligently suffering a State prisoner or prisoner of war to escape, as cognizable, bailable and triable by a Magistrate of the first class. Every other offence in Sections 147 to 158 is cognizable, non-bailable and triable by the Court of Session, as under the CrPC.

Is government sanction needed to prosecute these offences? Yes. Under Section 217(1)(a) BNSS, no court may take cognizance of any offence punishable under Chapter VII of the BNS, which contains Sections 147 to 158, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or the State Government. Section 196(1)(a) CrPC imposed the same bar for Chapter VI of the IPC.

Is every terrorist attack an act of waging war? No. In State (N.C.T. of Delhi) v. Navjot Sandhu (2005), the Supreme Court held that though every terrorist act does not amount to waging war, certain terrorist acts can. In Kasab v. State of Maharashtra (2012), it said a terrorist act and waging war may overlap, but one is not always the other, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 121 IPC cover different areas.

Where did sedition, Section 124A IPC, go? Section 124A IPC is not reproduced in Sections 147 to 158 BNS. Section 152 BNS, placed in the same chapter, is a differently framed offence of endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; it is explained on the separate sedition page.

Which law applies to an offence against the State committed before 1 July 2024? Section 358(2) BNS saves penalties and proceedings under the IPC as if it had not been repealed, so on a reading of that text such an offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 121 to 130 IPC. Proceedings pending on that date continue under the CrPC, including its sanction requirement in Section 196, under Section 531(2)(a) BNSS.

Related

• Section 124A IPC — Sedition abolished
• Sedition abolished — what replaced it
• Terrorist act — the new BNS definition
• Criminal conspiracy: IPC 120A-120B vs BNS 61
• Complaint against a public servant — Sections 175(4) and 218 BNSS
• IPC to BNS master table

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Chapter VII, Sections 147 to 158; Sections 211 and 358.
• Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Chapter VI, Sections 121 to 130, with footnotes.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 33, 217 and 531, and the First Schedule entries for Sections 147 to 158 BNS.
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Sections 39 and 196, and the First Schedule entries for Sections 121 to 130 IPC.
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
• Judgments read in full text: State (N.C.T. of Delhi) v. Navjot Sandhu (S_2005_2_79_306_EN.md); Mohammed Ajmal Mohammad Amir Kasab v. State of Maharashtra (2012_8_295_650_EN.md).

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.