Sections 349–358 IPC vs Sections 128–136 BNS — Assault and Criminal Force

In India, Sections 128 to 136 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced the assault and criminal force provisions, Sections 349 to 358 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), from 1 July 2024. The definitions and prison terms are unchanged; the fine caps in Sections 131, 135 and 136 BNS are higher.

At a glance

The CrPC First Schedule classified Sections 352, 355 and 358 IPC as non-cognizable and Sections 353, 356 and 357 IPC as cognizable, with Section 353 non-bailable. The BNSS First Schedule keeps that split. The CrPC bail and trial columns for Sections 355 to 358 IPC print "Ditto" directly below the rows substituted in 2013 for Sections 354 to 354D, so the CrPC bail classification of those four offences is not stated here.

What changed

• Modified — Section 131 (IPC 352): "fine which may extend to five hundred rupees" becomes "fine which may extend to one thousand rupees". The three-month term is unchanged. The single Explanation of Section 352 is split into Explanation 1, with the three cases in which provocation does not mitigate lettered (a), (b) and (c), and Explanation 2, which keeps the rule that whether the provocation was grave and sudden enough "is a question of fact".
• Modified — Section 135 (IPC 357): the fine cap rises from "one thousand rupees" to "five thousand rupees". The one-year term is unchanged.
• Modified — Section 136 (IPC 358): the fine cap rises from "two hundred rupees" to "one thousand rupees". Simple imprisonment up to one month is unchanged. The cross-reference "The last section is subject to the same Explanation as section 352" becomes "This section is subject to the same Explanation as section 131".
• Minor edit — Section 132 (IPC 353): the India Code IPC text reads "done or attempted to be done by such person to the lawful discharge of his duty"; Section 132 reads "in the lawful discharge". The two-year maximum and the three limbs are unchanged. The India Code IPC text also prints a Maharashtra amendment (Maharashtra Act 40 of 2018) substituting "five years" for "two years" in Section 353; Section 132 as enacted in the Gazette reads "two years" and carries no State amendment.
• Minor edit — Section 128 (IPC 349): the proviso's "three ways hereinafter described: First.— … Secondly.— … Thirdly.—" becomes "the following three ways, namely:–– (a) … (b) … (c)". The three ways are the same.
• Minor edit — Section 129 (IPC 350): the definition and Illustrations (a) to (h) are carried over; in Illustration (e) a semicolon after "A has used force to Z" becomes a comma.
• Minor edit — Section 133 (IPC 355): the India Code IPC text spells "dishonor"; Section 133 spells "dishonour". The offence and the two-year maximum are unchanged.
• Identical — Section 130 (IPC 351) and Section 134 (IPC 356): same words, including the Explanation that "Mere words do not amount to an assault" and Illustrations (a) to (c).
• Moved — IPC 354 and 354A to 354D: these are not in Sections 128 to 136. They are Sections 74 to 78 BNS; see the separate pages linked below.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 352 IPC (repealed from 1 July 2024):

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person otherwise than on grave and sudden provocation given by that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

Extract, Section 131 BNS:

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person otherwise than on grave and sudden provocation given by that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

Extract, Section 132 BNS:

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person being a public servant in the execution of his duty as such public servant, or with intent to prevent or deter that person from discharging his duty as such public servant, or in consequence of anything done or attempted to be done by such person in the lawful discharge of his duty as such public servant, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

How it works — the building blocks

The chapter is built in layers: Section 128 defines force, Section 129 turns force into criminal force, Section 130 defines assault, and Sections 131 to 136 punish assault or criminal force in six settings.

1. Force (Section 128) — causing motion, change of motion or cessation of motion to a person, or to a substance so that it comes into contact with the person's body, with anything the person is wearing or carrying, or with anything so situated that the contact affects the person's sense of feeling. The motion must be caused in one of three ways: (a) by one's own bodily power; (b) by disposing a substance so that the motion follows without any further act; or (c) by inducing an animal to move, change its motion or stop.
2. Criminal force (Section 129) — force used intentionally, without consent, either in order to commit an offence or intending, or knowing it likely, to cause injury, fear or annoyance. The Illustrations cover indirect force: unfastening the moorings of a boat in which Z sits (a), lashing the horses of Z's chariot (b), throwing a stone that splashes water on Z's clothes (e), pouring boiling water into Z's bath (g) and inciting a dog to spring on Z (h).
3. Assault (Section 130) — a gesture or preparation made intending, or knowing it likely, to cause a person present to apprehend that criminal force is about to be used. No contact is needed. Mere words are not an assault, but words can give a gesture its meaning: under Illustration (c), taking up a stick while saying "I will give you a beating" may be an assault.

The punishing sections each require an assault or criminal force plus one further element:

• Section 131 — no grave and sudden provocation given by the victim. Under Explanation 1, provocation does not mitigate if it was sought or voluntarily provoked by the offender as an excuse, given by anything done in obedience to the law or by a public servant lawfully exercising his powers, or given by anything done in lawful private defence.
• Section 132 — the victim is a public servant, and the assault or force is used while he executes his duty, with intent to prevent or deter him from discharging it, or in consequence of anything he did in the lawful discharge of it.
• Section 133 — an intention to dishonour the victim, without grave and sudden provocation from the victim.
• Section 134 — the assault or force is used in attempting to commit theft of property the victim is then wearing or carrying.
• Section 135 — the assault or force is used in attempting wrongfully to confine the victim.
• Section 136 — the assault or force is used on grave and sudden provocation given by the victim; the punishment is lower (simple imprisonment up to one month), and Explanation 1 to Section 131 decides when provocation does not count.

Neighbouring provisions: where the public servant is actually hurt, Section 121(1) BNS (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant, up to five years) or Section 121(2) (grievous hurt) is the relevant section. Assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty is Section 74 BNS.

What this means in practice

For the person assaulted

• Sections 131, 133 and 136 are non-cognizable. Under Section 174(2) BNSS, no police officer may investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate; see police refusing to register an FIR.
• Sections 132, 134 and 135 are cognizable, so an FIR can be registered.
• The victim can compound Sections 131, 133 and 136 without the court's permission (Section 359(1) BNSS), and Section 135 with the court's permission (Section 359(2)). Section 320 CrPC listed Sections 352, 355 and 358 IPC, and Section 357 IPC with permission, in the same way.

For the accused and defence advocate

• Every offence in Sections 131 to 136 is bailable except Section 132, so for the others release on bail is governed by Section 478 BNSS (bailable offences); for Section 132 it is a matter for the court.
• Where the complaint alleges only words, the Explanation to Section 130 is the starting point: the question is whether a gesture or preparation accompanied them.
• A Section 132 charge needs the public servant to have been acting in the execution of his duty, or the accused to have intended to deter him, or the force to be in consequence of his lawful discharge of duty. Manik Taneja (below) shows that an FIR under the old Section 353 which disclosed no assault or criminal force was quashed.

For the investigating officer

• Record which limb of Section 132 is alleged — execution of duty, intent to deter, or retaliation for lawful discharge — and the physical act said to be the assault or force.

Judgments that still matter

Mangat Rai v. State of Madhya Pradesh, [1970] 2 S.C.R. 151 (1969 INSC 212) — 1 September 1969. A Sales Tax Inspector on a surprise inspection tried to take account books from the appellant's son, who was running away with them; the appellant pulled the Inspector back and caught hold of him. The High Court, on the State's appeal, convicted him under Sections 353 and 506(1) IPC. A three-Judge Bench (judgment delivered by Sikri J.) held that the Inspector, entitled under Section 29(2) and (4) of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act to inspect and search, was acting in execution of his duty as a Sales Tax Inspector and that the appellant intended to deter him and prevent him from discharging his duty, and dismissed the appeal. The report does not show paragraph numbers. The "execution of his duty" and "intent to prevent or deter" limbs it applied are repeated in Section 132 BNS.

Manik Taneja & Anr. v. State of Karnataka & Anr., [2015] 1 S.C.R. 156 (2015 INSC 55) — 20 January 2015. A Police Inspector had an FIR registered under Sections 353 and 506 IPC after the appellants posted comments about his conduct on the traffic police Facebook page. V. Gopala Gowda and R. Banumathi JJ. (judgment by Banumathi J.) held that the essential ingredients of Section 353 are that the accused "should have assaulted the public servant or used criminal force with the intention to prevent or deter the public servant from discharging his duty" (para 12), and that nothing on record showed either. The Court set aside the High Court's order declining to quash and quashed the FIR (para 17). The ingredients it identified are words that Section 132 BNS repeats.

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 assault committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 352 to 358 IPC. Proceedings 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 fine caps in Sections 131, 135 and 136 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 351 and 352 IPC? Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 defines assault in the words of Section 351 IPC, and Section 131 BNS replaces Section 352 IPC as the general punishment for assault or criminal force. Section 131 keeps imprisonment of either description up to three months but raises the fine cap from five hundred to one thousand rupees, with either or both.

Is assault a bailable offence under the BNS? Yes, except in one case. The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 lists Sections 131, 133, 134, 135 and 136 BNS as bailable and triable by any Magistrate. Section 132 BNS, assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from his duty, is cognizable and non-bailable, as Section 353 IPC was after the 2006 amendment of the CrPC Schedule.

What replaced Section 353 IPC? Section 132 BNS. It punishes assault or criminal force on a public servant in the execution of his duty, to prevent or deter him from discharging it, or in consequence of anything done in the lawful discharge of it, with imprisonment of either description up to two years, or fine, or both. The maximum is the same as in Section 353 IPC as enacted.

Does mere abusive language amount to assault under Section 130 BNS? No. The Explanation to Section 130 BNS says mere words do not amount to an assault, though words may give a gesture or preparation a meaning that makes it an assault. In Manik Taneja v. State of Karnataka (2015 INSC 55), the Supreme Court quashed an FIR under Sections 353 and 506 IPC because nothing showed that the accused had assaulted or used criminal force on the officer.

What is the difference between force and criminal force? Force under Section 128 BNS is causing motion, change of motion or cessation of motion to a person, or to a substance so that it contacts the person, in one of three ways. It becomes criminal force under Section 129 BNS when used intentionally, without consent, to commit an offence or intending or knowing it likely to cause injury, fear or annoyance.

Can an assault case be compromised? Yes. Under Section 359(1) BNSS, offences under Sections 131, 133 and 136 BNS may be compounded by the person assaulted or to whom criminal force is used, without the court's permission. Under Section 359(2), Section 135 may be compounded by that person with the permission of the court. Sections 132 and 134 are not in either table, and Section 320 CrPC treated the IPC counterparts the same way.

Where did Section 354 IPC go? Section 354 IPC, assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, is not in BNS Sections 128 to 136. It is re-enacted as Section 74 BNS, and Sections 354A to 354D IPC as Sections 75 to 78 BNS, in the chapter on offences against woman and child.

Which law applies to an assault 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 an assault committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 352 to 358 IPC. Article 20(1) bars a penalty greater than the law in force at the time, so, on a reading of that Article, the higher BNS fine caps cannot be imposed for earlier conduct.

Related

• Section 354 IPC vs Section 74 BNS — Assault on a woman
• Sections 354A-354D IPC vs Sections 75-78 BNS — Sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking
• Hurt and grievous hurt: IPC 319-326 vs BNS 114-118
• Criminal intimidation: IPC 503-506 vs BNS 351
• Compromise in a criminal case — compounding under BNSS 359
• IPC to BNS master table

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 74, 121, 128 to 136 and 358.
• Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Sections 349 to 358, with the Maharashtra amendment printed under Section 353.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 359 and 531, and the First Schedule entries for Sections 131 to 136 BNS.
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Section 320 and the First Schedule entries for Sections 352 to 358 IPC, with footnotes.
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
• Judgments read in full text: Mangat Rai v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1970_2_151_158_EN.md); Manik Taneja v. State of Karnataka (2015_1_156_164_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.