Sections 171A–171I IPC vs Sections 169–177 BNS — Offences Relating to Elections

In India, Chapter IX of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Sections 169 to 177, replaced the election offences in Chapter IXA of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), Sections 171A to 171-I, on 1 July 2024. The words are almost unchanged; the fines in Sections 176 and 177 rise, and personation at an election is now non-cognizable.

At a glance

The CrPC First Schedule listed Sections 171E, 171F (undue influence), 171G, 171H and 171-I IPC as non-cognizable, bailable and triable by a Magistrate of the first class, and "Personation at an election" under Section 171F as cognizable, bailable and triable by a Magistrate of the first class. The BNSS First Schedule has one row for Section 174 BNS — "Undue influence or personation at an election" — and lists it as non-cognizable.

What changed

• Modified — Section 176 BNS (IPC 171H): the fine for incurring or authorising expenses to promote a candidate without the candidate's written authority rises from "five hundred rupees" to "ten thousand rupees". The proviso — expenses "not exceeding the amount of ten rupees" approved in writing by the candidate "within ten days" are deemed authorised — is unchanged, including the ten-rupee figure.
• Modified — Section 177 BNS (IPC 171-I): the fine for failing to keep election accounts required by law rises from "five hundred rupees" to "five thousand rupees".
• Modified (classification) — Section 174 BNS (IPC 171F): the section's words are the same, but personation at an election moves from cognizable (CrPC First Schedule) to non-cognizable (BNSS First Schedule). Bailability and the trial court are unchanged.
• Minor edit — Section 169 BNS (IPC 171A): the body is the same; the heading "“Candidate”, “Electoral right” defined" becomes the marginal note "Candidate, electoral right defined".
• Minor edit — Section 171 BNS (IPC 171C): in sub-section (2)(a) "with injury of any kind, or" becomes "with injury of any kind; or"; in sub-section (3) the comma after "a promise of public action" is dropped. Nothing else changes.
• Identical — Sections 170, 172, 173 and 175 BNS (IPC 171B, 171D, 171E, 171G): same words, including the proviso to Section 172 on proxy voting (inserted in the IPC by Act 24 of 2003) and the Explanation defining "treating" in Section 173.
• Renumbering: the chapter moves from IXA to IX, and the IPC's lettered sections become the numbered Sections 169 to 177.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 171H IPC (repealed from 1 July 2024), punishment clause:

… shall be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees:

Extract, Section 171 BNS, sub-sections (1) and (3):

(1) Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at an election.

(3) A declaration of public policy or a promise of public action or the mere exercise or a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right, shall not be deemed to be interference within the meaning of this section.

Extract, Section 176 BNS, punishment clause:

… shall be punished with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees:

The Gazette text of Section 171(3) reads "exercise or a legal right", as the India Code text of Section 171C(3) IPC did; the Supreme Court judgments below quote the IPC provision as "exercise of a legal right".

How it works — the ingredients

Definitions (Section 169). A "candidate" is a person nominated as a candidate at any election. An "electoral right" is the right to stand, or not to stand as, or to withdraw from being, a candidate, or to vote or refrain from voting. Every offence in the chapter is built on one or both terms.

Bribery (Sections 170 and 173). Bribery is committed by (i) giving a gratification to induce any person to exercise an electoral right, or to reward a person for having exercised it, or (ii) accepting a gratification as a reward for exercising the right or for inducing another to exercise it. The deeming rules widen it: offering, agreeing to give, or attempting to procure a gratification is "giving" (Section 170(2)); obtaining, agreeing to accept or attempting to obtain one is "accepting", and a person who takes a gratification for doing what he does not intend to do, or as a reward for what he has not done, is deemed to have accepted it as a reward (Section 170(3)). The proviso excludes "a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action". Punishment is up to one year, or fine, or both; bribery by "treating" — gratification in food, drink, entertainment or provision — is fine only (Section 173 and its Explanation).

Undue influence (Sections 171 and 174). The core is sub-section (1): voluntary interference, or an attempt to interfere, with the free exercise of any electoral right. Sub-section (2) deems two acts to be interference, "without prejudice to the generality" of sub-section (1): threatening a candidate or voter, or anyone in whom they are interested, "with injury of any kind"; and inducing or attempting to induce a candidate or voter to believe that he or someone he is interested in will become an object of "Divine displeasure or of spiritual censure". Sub-section (3) excludes policy declarations, promises of public action and the mere exercise of a legal right without intent to interfere.

Personation (Sections 172 and 174). Three acts are covered: applying for a voting paper, or voting, in the name of another person, living or dead, or in a fictitious name; having voted once, applying at the same election for a voting paper in one's own name; and abetting, procuring or attempting to procure voting in either way. The proviso protects a person authorised by law to vote as a proxy "in so far as he votes as a proxy for such elector".

False statement (Section 175). The prosecution must show (1) a statement purporting to be a statement of fact, (2) made or published with intent to affect the result of an election, (3) that is false, (4) which the maker knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, and (5) that relates to the personal character or conduct of a candidate. The only punishment is fine, with no stated cap.

Illegal payments (Section 176). Incurring or authorising expenses for a public meeting, advertisement, circular or publication, "or in any other way whatsoever", to promote or procure a candidate's election, without the candidate's general or special written authority. The ten-rupee, ten-day proviso cures small unauthorised spends that the candidate later approves in writing.

Election accounts (Section 177). A person required by a law or a rule having the force of law to keep accounts of election expenses who fails to keep them. The duty itself comes from election law, not from the BNS.

What this means in practice

For a complainant or rival candidate

• All the punishing sections (173 to 177) are non-cognizable under the BNSS First Schedule. Under Section 174(1) BNSS, an officer in charge of a police station who receives information of a non-cognizable offence must record its substance and refer the informant to the Magistrate; under Section 174(2), police may not investigate without a Magistrate's order. For personation, which the CrPC schedule treated as cognizable, this is a procedural change.
• None of these offences is compoundable under Section 359 BNSS, so a private settlement does not by itself end a prosecution.

For the accused and defence advocate

• Every offence in the chapter is bailable and triable by a Magistrate of the first class. The maximum custodial sentence anywhere in the chapter is one year (Sections 173 and 174); Sections 175 to 177 carry fine only.
• The charge must fit the text. Section 171(3) and the proviso to Section 170(1) exclude declarations of public policy and promises of public action, and Baburao Patel (below) holds that mere canvassing is not undue influence. In Manchu Mohan Babu (below), the Court quashed a Section 171F IPC charge arising from a protest rally held while the Model Code of Conduct was in force because nothing suggested undue influence or personation.

For candidates and campaign teams

• Supporters' spending is exposed under Section 176 unless the candidate has given general or special written authority; a spend of ten rupees or less can be ratified in writing within ten days. The maximum fine is now ₹10,000.
• Record-keeping is exposed under Section 177 (fine up to ₹5,000), but only where a law or rule having the force of law requires the accounts to be kept.

Judgments that still matter

Shri Baburao Patel & Ors. v. Dr. Zakir Husain & Ors., [1968] 2 S.C.R. 133 (1967 INSC 251) — 7 November 1967. A five-Judge Bench (K. N. Wanchoo C.J., R. S. Bachawat, V. Ramaswami, G. K. Mitter and K. S. Hegde JJ.; judgment by Wanchoo C.J.) dismissed a petition challenging the 1967 Presidential election. The Court recorded that Section 18(2) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 gave "undue influence" the same meaning as in Chapter IXA of the IPC. It held that the gist of undue influence is voluntary interference or attempted interference with the free exercise of an electoral right, that sub-section (2) of Section 171C is "merely illustrative", and that the definition, though wide, "cannot take in mere canvassing in favour of a candidate at an election. If that were so, it would be impossible to run democratic elections." Letters by the Prime Minister and the Chief Whip seeking votes were held to be canvassing. The report shows no paragraph numbers. Section 171 BNS repeats the words construed.

Shiv Kirpal Singh v. Shri V. V. Giri, [1971] 2 S.C.R. 197 — 14 September 1970. In petitions challenging the 1969 Presidential election, the majority (S. M. Sikri, J. M. Shelat and C. A. Vaidialingam JJ.; judgment by Sikri J.) held that sub-section (1) of Section 171C must be read without being cut down by sub-section (2), and that "free exercise" covers the voter's making of his choice, not only the casting of the vote. On the relation with Section 171G, it held that the fact that a false statement is a distinct offence under that section "does not and cannot mean that it cannot take the graver form of undue influence", and that "it is the degree of gravity of the allegation which will be the determining factor". It held that distribution of a scurrilous pamphlet about a candidate by post to electors or in the Central Hall, if proved, would constitute undue influence within Section 18 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952. Bhargava J. and Mitter J. gave separate opinions differing on this point. The election petitions were dismissed. The report shows no paragraph numbers. Sections 171 and 175 BNS repeat the words construed.

Manchu Mohan Babu & Anr. v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Anr., [2025] 7 S.C.R. 1969 (2025 INSC 916) — 31 July 2025. B. V. Nagarathna and K. V. Viswanathan JJ. heard appeals against a High Court order refusing to quash a prosecution under Sections 290, 341 and 171F read with Section 34 IPC, and Section 34 of the Police Act, 1861, over a rally and dharna for student fee reimbursements held in March 2019 after the Model Code of Conduct came into force. The Court found that the FIR and charge-sheet did "not disclose any material to suggest that there was any undue influence at elections, impersonation at elections or any act committed with the intention to interfere with the free exercise of electoral rights" (para 18). It allowed the appeals, set aside the High Court judgment and quashed the FIR and the proceedings (paras 19, 21). The case applied the IPC; Section 174 BNS repeats Section 171F.

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 election offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 171B to 171-I IPC. Investigations 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 at the time of the offence, so, on a reading of that Article, the higher fines in Sections 176 and 177 BNS cannot be imposed for earlier conduct. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What are the BNS equivalents of Sections 171A to 171-I IPC? Chapter IX of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Sections 169 to 177, replaces Chapter IXA of the IPC section for section: 171A becomes 169, 171B becomes 170, 171C becomes 171, 171D becomes 172, 171E becomes 173, 171F becomes 174, 171G becomes 175, 171H becomes 176 and 171-I becomes 177. The order and the operative words are carried over.

What changed in the election offences under the BNS? Two fines went up. Unauthorised expenses to promote a candidate carry a fine of up to ten thousand rupees under Section 176 BNS, against five hundred rupees under Section 171H IPC, and failure to keep election accounts carries up to five thousand rupees under Section 177, against five hundred under Section 171-I. Section 171 BNS also has two punctuation edits; the other sections repeat the IPC words.

Is personation at an election cognizable under the BNSS? No. The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 lists 'Undue influence or personation at an election' under Section 174 BNS as non-cognizable, bailable and triable by a Magistrate of the first class. The CrPC First Schedule had listed personation at an election under Section 171F IPC as cognizable, so the classification has changed.

What is the punishment for election bribery under the BNS? Section 173 BNS punishes bribery with imprisonment of either description up to one year, or fine, or both, the same as Section 171E IPC. Bribery by treating, where the gratification consists in food, drink, entertainment or provision, is punishable with fine only. Under Section 170(2) and (3), offering or agreeing to give a gratification counts as giving it, and agreeing or attempting to obtain one counts as accepting it.

Is canvassing or a campaign promise undue influence under Section 171 BNS? Section 171(3) BNS provides that a declaration of public policy, a promise of public action, or the mere exercise of a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right is not interference. In Baburao Patel v. Dr. Zakir Husain ([1968] 2 S.C.R. 133), the Supreme Court held that the wide words of Section 171C(1) IPC, now Section 171(1) BNS, cannot take in mere canvassing.

Is spreading a false statement about a candidate an offence? Yes. Section 175 BNS punishes, with fine, anyone who, intending to affect the result of an election, makes or publishes a false statement of fact about the personal character or conduct of a candidate which he knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true. In Shiv Kirpal Singh v. V. V. Giri ([1971] 2 S.C.R. 197), the majority held that such a statement may, depending on its gravity, also amount to undue influence.

Can election offences be compounded? No. None of Sections 173 to 177 BNS appears in either compounding table in Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and none of Sections 171E to 171-I IPC appeared in Section 320 CrPC. A settlement between the parties therefore does not end the case by compounding.

Which law applies to an election offence committed before 1 July 2024? Section 358(2) BNS saves any penalty incurred under the IPC and lets proceedings be instituted and continued as if the IPC had not been repealed, so, on a reading of that text, an offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 171B to 171-I IPC. Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars a penalty greater than the law in force when the act was done, so, on a reading of that Article, the higher fines in Sections 176 and 177 BNS cannot be imposed for earlier conduct.

Related

• IPC to BNS master table
• Personating a public servant and related offences: IPC 166, 168-171 vs BNS 198, 202-205
• Defamation: IPC 499-502 vs BNS 356
• Fake news and false statements — BNS 353 and 197 vs IPC 505
• Police refuse to register an FIR — remedies under the BNSS
• Offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Chapter IX, Sections 169 to 177; Section 358.
• Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Chapter IXA, Sections 171A to 171-I, with the amendment footnotes.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 174, 359 and 531, and the First Schedule entries for Sections 173 to 177 BNS.
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Section 320 and the First Schedule entries for Sections 171E to 171-I IPC.
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
• Judgments read in full text: Shri Baburao Patel v. Dr. Zakir Husain (1968_2_133_153_EN.md); Shiv Kirpal Singh v. Shri V. V. Giri (1971_2_197_391_EN.md); Manchu Mohan Babu v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2025_7_1969_1979_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.