IPC 326A vs BNS 124: Acid Attack Changes Explained (2026)

In India, Section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced the acid attack offences in Sections 326A and 326B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) on 1 July 2024. The punishments are unchanged — ten years to life for an attack, five to seven years for an attempt — but Section 124(1) adds causing a permanent vegetative state.

At a glance

IPC	BNS	Offence	Punishment (BNS text)	Classification (BNSS First Schedule)	Change
326A	124(1)	Causing permanent or partial damage or deformity, burns, maiming, disfigurement, disability or grievous hurt by throwing or administering acid, or by other means, with intention or knowledge; or causing a permanent vegetative state	Imprisonment of either description not less than 10 years, may extend to life, and fine (fine to meet medical expenses; paid to the victim)	Cognizable; non-bailable; Court of Session	Expanded
326B	124(2)	Throwing or attempting to throw acid, or attempting to administer acid or use other means, with intention to cause such injury	Imprisonment of either description not less than 5 years, may extend to 7 years, and fine	Cognizable; non-bailable; Court of Session	Minor edit

The CrPC First Schedule classified Sections 326A and 326B IPC the same way. Neither offence is compoundable under Section 320 CrPC or Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).

What changed

Expanded — Section 124(1) (IPC 326A): after "with the intention of causing or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause such injury or hurt", the BNS inserts "or causes a person to be in a permanent vegetative state". The punishment — "not less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine" — is the same.
Minor edit — first and second provisos to Section 124(1): the fine must still be "just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses of the treatment of the victim", and any fine must be "paid to the victim". The second proviso now reads "imposed under this sub-section" for "under this section".
Minor edit — Section 124(2) (IPC 326B): the offence and punishment are word for word the same; it becomes a sub-section of Section 124.
Minor edit — Explanation 1: the definition of "acid" (any substance with "acidic or corrosive character or burning nature" capable of causing bodily injury leading to scars, disfigurement or temporary or permanent disability) is unchanged; "For the purposes of section 326A and this section" becomes "For the purposes of this section".
Expanded — Explanation 2: "permanent or partial damage or deformity shall not be required to be irreversible" becomes "permanent or partial damage or deformity or permanent vegetative state shall not be required to be irreversible"; as in Explanation 1, "For the purposes of section 326A and this section" becomes "For the purposes of this section".

Procedural changes in the BNSS — the acid attack offence now sits in lists from which Sections 326A and 326B were absent:

Expanded — Section 173(1) BNSS, second proviso (CrPC 154(1)): where the victim is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, the information must be recorded at the victim's residence or a place of the victim's choice, in the presence of an interpreter or special educator, and videographed. The CrPC proviso did not list Sections 326A or 326B; Section 173(1) lists Section 124 BNS. The first proviso (woman officer to record a woman victim's information) already covered Sections 326A and 326B.
Expanded — Section 180(3) BNSS, second proviso (CrPC 161(3)): the statement of a woman against whom an offence under Section 124 is alleged is to be recorded by a woman police officer or any woman officer. The CrPC proviso did not list Sections 326A or 326B.
Expanded — Section 183(6)(a) BNSS (CrPC 164(5A)(a)): in cases punishable under Section 124 BNS, the Magistrate "shall record the statement of the person against whom such offence has been committed" as soon as the offence is brought to police notice. Section 164(5A)(a) CrPC did not list Sections 326A or 326B.
Identical in substance — Sections 396(7) and 397 BNSS (CrPC 357B and 357C): State compensation is in addition to the fine paid to the victim under Section 124(1), and every hospital must treat victims of a Section 124(1) offence free of cost and inform the police. As in the CrPC, these two provisions refer to the completed attack (124(1)) only, not to the attempt (124(2)).

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 326A IPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

Whoever causes permanent or partial damage or deformity to, or burns or maims or disfigures or disables, any part or parts of the body of a person or causes grievous hurt by throwing acid on or by administering acid to that person, or by using any other means with the intention of causing or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause such injury or hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine:

Extract, Section 124(2) BNS:

Whoever throws or attempts to throw acid on any person or attempts to administer acid to any person, or attempts to use any other means, with the intention of causing permanent or partial damage or deformity or burns or maiming or disfigurement or disability or grievous hurt to that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

How it works — the ingredients

Section 124(1) — the completed attack

A listed result: permanent or partial damage or deformity to any part of the body; burns; maiming; disfigurement; disabling; grievous hurt; or (new) causing a person to be in a permanent vegetative state. Explanation 2 says damage, deformity and a permanent vegetative state need not be irreversible.
The means: throwing acid on the person, administering acid to the person, or "using any other means". Explanation 1 defines "acid" by its effect — any substance of "acidic or corrosive character or burning nature" capable of causing injury leading to scars, disfigurement or disability.
The mental element: intention to cause, or knowledge that the accused is likely to cause, such injury or hurt.

The section does not say whether the new permanent vegetative state limb is tied to the use of acid or other means in the way the earlier limbs are; it is placed after the mental-element clause. The phrase is not defined in the BNS. Until a court construes it, any view on its reach is a reading of the text.

Section 124(2) — the attempt

The offence is complete on throwing or attempting to throw acid on a person, or attempting to administer acid or use other means, with the intention of causing any of the listed injuries. No injury need result. Knowledge alone is not enough here — sub-section (2) uses "with the intention of causing".

Where Section 118 fits: Section 118 BNS (the old Sections 324 and 326) still covers hurt and grievous hurt caused by "any poison or any corrosive substance"; Section 124 is the specific provision for acid.

What this means in practice

For the victim

The recording safeguards in Sections 173(1), 180(3) and 183(6)(a) BNSS (above) apply from the first report.
Any hospital, public or private, must give first-aid or treatment free of cost at once and inform the police (Section 397 BNSS). A person in charge of a hospital who contravenes Section 397 commits an offence under Section 200 BNS (see the page on Sections 166A and 166B IPC).
The fine under Section 124(1) is payable to the victim. Under Section 396 BNSS the victim or dependants can seek compensation from the State or District Legal Services Authority, including, under Section 396(4), where the offender is not traced or identified but the victim is identified and no trial takes place; the Authority must complete the enquiry within two months (Section 396(5)) and may order immediate first-aid or medical benefits free of cost (Section 396(6)). That compensation is "in addition to" the fine (Section 396(7)).

For the accused and defence advocate

Both offences are non-bailable and triable only by the Court of Session. Section 124(1) carries a minimum of ten years; Section 124(2) a minimum of five years.
A discharge plea that the medical report shows only simple injury will not succeed on that ground alone — Maqbool holds the listed injuries attract the section "whether the seven of them be simple or grievous" (para 7).
For conduct before 1 July 2024, the permanent vegetative state limb is new; on a reading of Article 20(1), it cannot found a conviction for earlier conduct, though the same facts may fall within another limb of Section 326A IPC.

For the investigating officer

In Hakim (2025) the Supreme Court upheld a conviction without recovery of the substance where chemical burns were proved by testimony and medical evidence (para 27); that shows what the Court accepted on those facts, not that recovery is unnecessary.

Judgments that still matter

Laxmi v. Union of India, [2015] 4 S.C.R. 19 — 10 April 2015. Madan B. Lokur and Uday Umesh Lalit JJ., in Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 129 of 2006, noted that Section 357C CrPC had been inserted with effect from 3 February 2013 (para 8). Finding that, despite its earlier directions, the minimum compensation of ₹3,00,000 per victim had not been fixed in some States and Union Territories, it considered it appropriate for the Member Secretary of each State Legal Services Authority to take the issue up with the State Government so that a minimum of ₹3,00,000 is made available to each victim (para 10). It directed the States and Union Territories to take up with private hospitals that they should not refuse treatment and that full treatment be provided "including medicines, food, bedding and reconstructive surgeries" (para 17); that the first-treating hospital give a certificate that the individual is an acid attack victim (para 18); that the Union Home and Health Secretaries take up with the States and Union Territories the issue of a notification banning over-the-counter sale of acid within three months (para 20); and that the District Legal Services Authority function as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (para 22). Section 397 BNSS carries forward Section 357C.

Parivartan Kendra v. Union of India, [2015] 12 S.C.R. 607 (2015 INSC 893) — 7 December 2015. M.Y. Eqbal and C. Nagappan JJ. held that the ₹3 lakh fixed in Laxmi is "the minimum amount which the State shall make available to each victim of acid attack" and does not restrict a higher award (para 12). Finding that the Laxmi guidelines "are proper, except with respect to the compensation amount" (para 19), the Court directed the State of Bihar to pay ₹10 lakh to one victim and ₹3 lakh to her sister, and to take full responsibility for their treatment and rehabilitation (para 21).

Maqbool v. State of Uttar Pradesh, [2018] 12 S.C.R. 885 — 7 September 2018. Kurian Joseph and Sanjay Kishan Kaul JJ. (judgment by Kurian Joseph J.) decided whether Section 326A applies if the acid injury is simple (para 2). The Court held that both Sections 326A and 326B list eight types of injury, of which grievous hurt is only one (paras 6–7), and that "it is not a requirement under the Section that the injuries caused should be invariably grievous" (para 9). It held that a section's title "cannot control the contents of the provision" where the words are clear (para 10), and overruled two High Court decisions that had held otherwise (para 16). The appeal against refusal of discharge was dismissed (para 17). Section 124 BNS repeats the words and heading construed.

Hakim v. State of NCT of Delhi, [2025] 7 S.C.R. 27 (2025 INSC 728) — 19 May 2025. Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih JJ. (judgment by Masih J.) heard appeals against concurrent convictions under Section 326A IPC with sentences of life imprisonment and fine (para 1). The Court upheld the convictions (para 34), holding that the non-recovery of the substance did not defeat the case where chemical burns were substantiated by testimony and medical evidence (para 27). It reduced one appellant's sentence to ten years and fine of ₹50,000 for his role, age and ailments (para 42), and dismissed the other appeal (paras 44–45).

Does the old case law still apply? The operative words of Section 124 BNS repeat Sections 326A and 326B IPC, apart from the permanent vegetative state additions, so, on a reading of the text, judgments construing those words remain relevant to Section 124.

Which law applies to your case

Section 358(2) BNS saves any penalty or punishment incurred under the IPC and allows proceedings to be instituted, continued or enforced "as if that Code had not been repealed"; on a reading of that provision, an attack before 1 July 2024 is charged under Section 326A or 326B IPC. Proceedings pending on that date continue under the CrPC (Section 531(2)(a) BNSS). Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars conviction for an act that was not an offence under the law then in force, so, on a reading of that Article, the permanent vegetative state limb of Section 124(1) applies only to conduct from 1 July 2024. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNS equivalent of Sections 326A and 326B IPC? Section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaces both from 1 July 2024. Section 124(1) replaces Section 326A (causing damage, deformity, burns, maiming, disfigurement, disability or grievous hurt by acid or other means), and Section 124(2) replaces Section 326B (throwing or attempting to throw acid with the intention of causing such injury).

What is new in Section 124 BNS? Section 124(1) adds a new limb: whoever "causes a person to be in a permanent vegetative state" is punished with the same ten years to life and fine. Explanation 2 now provides that a permanent vegetative state, like permanent or partial damage or deformity, need not be irreversible. The punishments and the two proviso rules on fine are otherwise unchanged.

What is the punishment for an acid attack under the BNS? Under Section 124(1) BNS, imprisonment of either description for not less than ten years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine. The fine must be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses of the victim's treatment and must be paid to the victim. Under Section 124(2), throwing or attempting to throw acid carries not less than five years, which may extend to seven years, and fine.

Is an acid attack bailable, and which court tries it? No. The BNSS First Schedule lists both Section 124(1) and Section 124(2) BNS as cognizable, non-bailable and triable by the Court of Session. The CrPC First Schedule classified Sections 326A and 326B IPC the same way. Neither sub-section appears in the compounding tables of Section 359 BNSS.

Does the injury have to be grievous for Section 124(1) to apply? No, on the Supreme Court's reading of the identical words in Section 326A IPC. In Maqbool v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2018), the Court held that if the injury is one of the types listed, it does not matter whether it is simple or grievous; the heading referring to grievous hurt does not control the section. Section 124(1) BNS repeats those words and heading.

Must a hospital treat an acid attack victim free of cost? Yes. Section 397 BNSS requires all hospitals, public or private, to immediately provide first-aid or medical treatment free of cost to victims of an offence under Section 124(1) BNS and to inform the police immediately. Section 200 BNS makes it an offence for a person in charge of such a hospital to contravene Section 397 BNSS.

What compensation can an acid attack victim get? The fine under Section 124(1) BNS goes to the victim, and Section 396(7) BNSS says State compensation under the victim compensation scheme is in addition to that fine. In Laxmi v. Union of India (2015) the Supreme Court required compliance with its earlier directions so that a minimum of ₹3 lakh is made available to each acid attack victim, and in Parivartan Kendra (2015) it held that this is a minimum and awarded ₹10 lakh to one victim.

Which law applies to an acid attack before 1 July 2024? Section 358(2) BNS preserves penalties and proceedings for offences against the IPC as if it had not been repealed, so on a reading of that provision an attack before 1 July 2024 is charged under Section 326A or 326B IPC. On a reading of Article 20(1), the new permanent vegetative state limb of Section 124(1) cannot be applied to earlier conduct.

Sources

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 118, 124, 200 and 358.
Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Sections 326A and 326B with the insertion footnote (Act 13 of 2013).
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 173(1), 180(3), 183(6), 359, 396, 397 and 531, and the First Schedule entries for Section 124(1) and (2) BNS.
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Sections 154(1), 161(3), 164(5A), 320, 357B and 357C, and the First Schedule entries for Sections 326A and 326B IPC.
Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
Judgments read in full text: Laxmi v. Union of India (2015_4_19_26_EN.md); Parivartan Kendra v. Union of India (2015_12_607_626_EN.md); Maqbool v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2018_12_885_894_EN.md); Hakim v. State of NCT of Delhi (2025_7_27_41_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.

Sections 326A and 326B IPC vs Section 124 BNS — Acid Attack