Sections 375-376E IPC vs Sections 63-71 BNS — Rape and Related Sexual Offences

In India, Sections 63 to 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced Sections 375 to 376E of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) on 1 July 2024. The rape definition carries over, but the marital exception age rises from fifteen to eighteen, gang rape of a woman under eighteen becomes death-eligible, and Section 69 adds a deceit-based offence.

At a glance

RI = rigorous imprisonment; "natural life" = imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life. Classification is from the BNSS First Schedule; every row is triable by a Court of Session.

The CrPC First Schedule gave the IPC sections the same classification, except that it listed Section 376B as "Cognizable" without the complaint qualifier.

What changed

• Minor edit — Section 63 (IPC 375): the seven descriptions "First" to "Seventhly" become clauses (i) to (vii). The acts, Explanations (including the consent definition) and Exception 1 are otherwise worded as before; the consent definition dates from Act 13 of 2013 (w.e.f. 3 February 2013), not from the BNS.
• Modified — Exception 2: "the wife not being under fifteen years of age" becomes "the wife not being under eighteen years of age".
• Identical — Sections 64(1) and 65(1) (IPC 376(1) and 376(3)): same words and punishments, including the provisos to Section 65(1) that the fine meet medical and rehabilitation expenses and be paid to the victim.
• Minor edit — Section 64(2) (IPC 376(2)): IPC clause (i) had been omitted by Act 22 of 2018, so IPC clauses (j) to (n) become (i) to (m). Clause (c) reads "the Central Government or a State Government" for "the Central or a State Government", and the Explanation defines armed forces as "the naval, army and air forces" where the IPC said "naval, military and air forces".
• Minor edit — Sections 65(2), 66, 67, 68, 71: cross-references move from IPC sections to BNS sections ("section 375" becomes "section 63"; "section 376" becomes "section 64"), and provisos say "this sub-section" instead of "this section". Punishments are unchanged.
• Minor edit — Section 70(1) (IPC 376D): "may extend to life" becomes "may extend to imprisonment for life".
• Expanded — Section 70(2) (IPC 376DA and 376DB): the IPC punished gang rape of a woman under sixteen with natural life and fine but no death (Section 376DA), and of a woman under twelve with natural life and fine, or death (Section 376DB); a woman aged sixteen or seventeen fell under Section 376D. Section 70(2) uses one threshold, "under eighteen years of age", with natural life and fine, or death.
• New — Section 69: no IPC section from 375 to 376E refers to a promise to marry or to deceitful means.
• Modified — classification of Section 67: the BNSS First Schedule marks it "Cognizable (only on the complaint of the victim)", where the CrPC First Schedule said "Cognizable" for Section 376B. The complaint requirement itself is not new: Section 198B CrPC already barred cognizance of Section 376B between spouses except on a complaint by the wife, and Section 221 BNSS repeats that bar for Section 67.

Statutory text (relevant extract)

Extract, Section 375 IPC, Exception 2 (repealed from 1 July 2024):

Exception 2.—Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.

Extract, Section 63 BNS, Exception 2:

Exception 2.––Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape.

Extract, Section 69 BNS (no IPC equivalent):

Whoever, by deceitful means or by making promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.—"deceitful means" shall include inducement for, or false promise of employment or promotion, or marrying by suppressing identity.

How it works — the ingredients

Rape under Section 63 requires three things together:

1. An act listed in clauses (a) to (d) — penetration by the penis to any extent (a); insertion of any object or body part (b); manipulation to cause penetration (c); or application of the mouth (d). Each clause also covers making the woman do so "with him or any other person". Explanation 1 extends "vagina" to the labia majora.
2. One of the seven circumstances in clauses (i) to (vii) — against her will; without her consent; consent obtained by fear of death or hurt; consent given believing the man is her husband; consent given when unsoundness of mind, intoxication or a stupefying substance prevents her understanding the act; with or without consent when she is under eighteen; or when she cannot communicate consent.
3. No applicable Exception — Exception 1 excludes a medical procedure or intervention; Exception 2 excludes acts by a man with his own wife who is not under eighteen.

Explanation 2 defines consent as an unequivocal voluntary agreement communicated "by words, gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication", and its proviso states that a woman who does not physically resist penetration is not, for that reason only, to be regarded as consenting.

Punishment then turns on the offender's position (64(2)), the woman's age (65), death or a persistent vegetative state (66), a group (70) or a previous conviction (71).

Section 69 requires (1) deceitful means, or a promise to marry made "without any intention of fulfilling the same"; (2) sexual intercourse with the woman; and (3) that the intercourse does "not amount to the offence of rape". So Section 69 applies only where Section 63 does not. Unlike Sections 67 and 68, it carries no definition of "sexual intercourse".

What this means in practice

For the survivor and her family

• Information about an offence under Sections 64 to 71 given by the woman is to be recorded by a woman police officer or woman officer; for a woman with a disability, at her residence or a place of her choice, with videography (provisos to Section 173(1) BNSS).
• A medical examination needs her consent; she is to be sent to a registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours of the information, and the report must reach the investigating officer within seven days (Section 184 BNSS).
• Every hospital, public or private, must give free first-aid or treatment to victims of offences under Sections 64 to 68, 70 and 71 and inform the police (Section 397 BNSS). Publishing her identity is an offence under Section 72 BNS.

For the investigating officer

• The Magistrate records the victim's statement as soon as the offence is brought to police notice, as far as practicable by a woman Magistrate (Section 183(6)(a) BNSS).
• Investigation of offences under Sections 64 to 68, 70 and 71 must be completed within two months of the information (Section 193(2)); Section 69 is not in that list. No sanction is needed to prosecute a public servant under Sections 64 to 66 or 68 to 71 (third proviso to Section 218(1)).

For the advocate

• Trial of rape and of offences under Sections 64 to 68, 70 and 71 is in camera (Section 366(2) BNSS) and is to be completed within two months of the chargesheet (proviso to Section 346(1)).
• Evidence of the victim's character or previous sexual experience is not relevant to consent in prosecutions under Sections 64 to 71 (Section 48 BSA). In a prosecution under Section 64(2), where intercourse is proved and she states she did not consent, the court shall presume absence of consent (Section 120 BSA, formerly Section 114A of the Evidence Act).
• For a wife under eighteen, cognizance under Section 64 is barred after one year from the offence (Section 219(6) BNSS; Section 198(6) CrPC carried the same bar, reading "eighteen" from 31 December 2009).
• On a reading of Section 69, the prosecution must show there was no intention to fulfil the promise when it was made; a later failure to marry is not, by itself, within those words.

Judgments that still matter

Independent Thought v. Union of India & Anr., [2017] 13 S.C.R. 821 (2017 INSC 1030) — 11 October 2017. Madan B. Lokur J. and Deepak Gupta J. wrote concurring opinions. Lokur J. held that Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC must "now be meaningfully read as" the wife "not being under eighteen years of age" (para 105) and made clear that the larger question of marital rape of adult women was not decided (para 106). Gupta J. held the Exception, so far as it related to a girl below eighteen, arbitrary and discriminatory, read it down, and stated the judgment "will have prospective effect" (para 88). Section 63 BNS now writes "eighteen" into the text itself.

Pramod Suryabhan Pawar v. State of Maharashtra & Anr., [2019] 11 S.C.R. 423 (2019 INSC 939) — 21 August 2019. A two-Judge Bench quashed an FIR under Section 376 IPC alleging a false promise to marry. The Court held that "a breach of a promise cannot be said to be a false promise" (para 16) and required two propositions: the promise must have been given in bad faith "with no intention of being adhered to at the time it was given", and it must bear "a direct nexus to the woman's decision" (para 18). This was said of consent under Section 375 IPC; because Section 69 BNS uses "without any intention of fulfilling the same", on a reading of the text the reasoning remains relevant.

State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh & Ors., [1996] 1 S.C.R. 532 (1996 INSC 75) — 16 January 1996. A two-Judge Bench (A.S. Anand and S. Saghir Ahmad JJ.) held that "Corroboration as a condition for judicial reliance on the testimony of the prosecutrix is not a requirement of law but a guidance of prudence under given circumstances." It also held that Section 327(2) CrPC "casts a duty on the Court" to try rape cases in camera, and that courts should, as far as possible, avoid disclosing the name of the prosecutrix in their orders. Section 366(2) BNSS continues the in-camera rule, and Section 72 BNS punishes printing or publishing the victim's identity. The report shows no paragraph numbers.

Applying the new provisions — Appellant v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., 2026 INSC 44 — 9 January 2026. The accused had been chargesheeted under Sections 65(1), 74, 137(2) and 352 BNS and the POCSO Act (para 8). B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan JJ. cancelled bail granted by the High Court, holding that it had failed to apply "the gravity of the offence, the vulnerability of the victim and the likelihood of witness intimidation" (para 14), and directed the accused to surrender within two weeks (para 17).

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 committed before 1 July 2024 is charged under Sections 375 to 376E IPC even if the FIR is registered later. Matters pending on that date continue under the CrPC (Section 531(2)(a) BNSS) and the Indian Evidence Act (Section 170(2) BSA). Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars a penalty greater than the law in force when the act was committed, so, on a reading of that Article, the wider death-eligibility in Section 70(2) cannot reach earlier conduct. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BNS equivalent of Section 375 and Section 376 IPC? Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaces Section 375 IPC and defines rape in the same four acts and seven descriptions. Punishment under Section 376 IPC is now in Section 64 BNS (IPC 376(1) and (2)) and Section 65(1) BNS (IPC 376(3), a woman under sixteen). IPC 376A, 376AB, 376B, 376C, 376D to 376DB and 376E correspond to BNS 66, 65(2), 67, 68, 70 and 71.

Has the marital rape exception been removed in the BNS? No. Exception 2 to Section 63 BNS still provides that sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife is not rape, but only where the wife is not under eighteen years of age; IPC Section 375 said fifteen. Section 67 BNS separately punishes a husband who has sexual intercourse without consent with a wife living separately, with two to seven years and fine.

What is Section 69 BNS and is it the same as rape? Section 69 BNS punishes a man who, by deceitful means or by making a promise to marry without any intention of fulfilling it, has sexual intercourse with a woman, where that intercourse does not amount to rape. The punishment is imprisonment of either description up to ten years and fine. Its Explanation includes inducement for, or false promise of, employment or promotion, and marrying by suppressing identity. It is a separate offence with no counterpart in IPC 375-376E.

What is the punishment for gang rape under the BNS? Under Section 70(1) BNS, each member of the group is punished with rigorous imprisonment of not less than twenty years, which may extend to imprisonment for the remainder of natural life, and fine. Where the woman is under eighteen, Section 70(2) prescribes imprisonment for the remainder of natural life and fine, or death. Under the IPC, death was available only where she was under twelve (Section 376DB).

Is rape bailable under the BNS, and which court tries it? The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 classifies Sections 64 to 66 and 68 to 71 BNS as cognizable and non-bailable, triable by a Court of Session. Section 67 (husband during separation) is bailable and cognizable only on the complaint of the victim. Under the proviso to Section 21 BNSS, offences under Sections 64 to 71 are to be tried, as far as practicable, by a court presided over by a woman.

How quickly must a rape investigation and trial be completed under the BNSS? Section 193(2) BNSS requires the investigation of an offence under Sections 64 to 68, 70 or 71 BNS to be completed within two months from the date the information was recorded by the officer in charge. The proviso to Section 346(1) BNSS requires the inquiry or trial of those offences to be completed within two months from the filing of the chargesheet. Neither list includes Section 69.

Which law applies to a rape committed before 1 July 2024? Section 358(2) BNS saves any penalty or punishment incurred under the repealed IPC and allows proceedings to 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 IPC 375-376E. 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 wider Section 70(2) BNS cannot be applied to earlier conduct.

Related

• False promise of marriage — the new Section 69 BNS
• Sexual offences: IPC vs BNS
• Offences against women: IPC vs BNS
• Sections 354A-354D IPC vs BNS — sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking
• Offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies
• Section 114A IEA vs Section 120 BSA — Presumption as to Absence of Consent in Certain Prosecutions for Rape
• Sections 228–228A IPC vs Sections 267, 72–73 BNS — Insult to a Court and Disclosure of a Sexual-Offence Victim's Identity
• Section 327 CrPC vs Section 366 BNSS — Court to be Open and In-Camera Trials

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette text): Sections 63 to 72 and 358. Indian Penal Code, 1860 (India Code text): Sections 375 to 376E with amendment footnotes (Act 13 of 2013; Act 22 of 2018).
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Sections 21, 173, 183, 184, 193, 218, 219, 346, 366, 397, 531 and the First Schedule; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Section 198(6) and the First Schedule.
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: Sections 48, 120, 170; Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Section 114A; Constitution of India: Article 20(1).
• Judgments read in full text: 2017_13_821_920_EN.md (Independent Thought); 2019_11_423_443_EN.md (Pramod Suryabhan Pawar); 1996_1_532_556_EN.md (Gurmit Singh); Diary_26489-2025_Judgment.md (2026 INSC 44).

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.