Sexual Offences — Old IPC vs New BNS Comparison

In India, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) moves the rape provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 375 to 376E, to Sections 63 to 71 BNS, and victim-identity protection from Section 228A IPC to Sections 72 and 73. The marital exception age rises from fifteen to eighteen, Section 69 is new, and Section 377 IPC has no counterpart.

The sections sit in Chapter V, "Of offences against woman and child". The BNS came into force on 1 July 2024 (S.O. 850(E), 23 February 2024), except Section 106(2).

At a glance

"RI" is rigorous imprisonment. IPC 354–354D (now BNS 74–78) are covered on the pages linked under Related.

What changed

• Section 63 — Minor edit. The four acts, (a) to (d), are word for word; the descriptions "First" to "Seventhly" become clauses (i) to (vii) with unchanged text, including (vi), "with or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age".
• Explanation 2 (consent) and Exception 1 — Identical. Consent remains "an unequivocal voluntary agreement", and a woman who does not physically resist is not, "by the reason only of that fact", consenting. Both date from Act 13 of 2013 (w.e.f. 3 February 2013).
• Exception 2 — Modified. "the wife not being under fifteen years of age" becomes "the wife not being under eighteen years of age".
• Section 64(2) — Minor edit. IPC clause (i) was omitted by Act 22 of 2018, so IPC (j)–(n) become BNS (i)–(m): incapable of consent (i), control or dominance (j), mental or physical disability (k), grievous bodily harm or endangering life (l), repeated rape (m). Clause (c) reads "the Central Government or a State Government"; the Explanation says "army" for "military".
• Sections 65, 66, 67, 68, 70(1) and 71 — Minor edit. Punishments are unchanged; cross-references move to BNS numbers (s.66 now refers to "sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 64"), and s.70(1) reads "may extend to imprisonment for life" for "may extend to life".
• Section 69 — New. No IPC provision matched it.
• Section 70(2) — Modified. IPC s.376DA (under sixteen) carried life for the remainder of natural life and fine, with no death sentence; s.376DB (under twelve) added death. Section 70(2) applies the s.376DB punishment to every woman "under eighteen years of age". Death becomes available for victims aged twelve to fifteen, and victims aged sixteen or seventeen move from s.376D (minimum twenty years) to s.70(2).
• Section 72 — Expanded. Victims of s.69 are added; "minor" becomes "a child" in the next-of-kin clause.
• Section 73 — Minor edit. IPC s.228A(3) becomes a separate section referring to "section 72".

Statutory text (relevant extracts)

Exception 2 — BNS s.63 (extract; IPC s.375 read "fifteen"):

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

BNS s.69 (extract):

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.

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

BNS s.70(2) (extract):

Where a woman under eighteen years of age is raped by one or more persons constituting a group or acting in furtherance of a common intention, each of those persons shall be deemed to have committed the offence of rape and shall be punished with imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and with fine, or with death.

How the offences work

Rape, ss.63–66. The prosecution must prove one of the four acts in clauses (a) to (d) and one of the seven circumstances in (i) to (vii), unless an Exception applies. The punishment then turns on the offender and the victim's age: s.64(1) is the base offence; s.64(2) covers the listed aggravated cases; s.65(1) applies where the victim is under sixteen and s.65(2) where she is under twelve; s.66 applies where, in committing an offence under s.64(1) or (2), the offender inflicts an injury causing death or a persistent vegetative state. Under ss.65 and 70 the fine "shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim" and "shall be paid to the victim".

Section 67 (separated wife). Intercourse by a husband with his own wife who is living separately, "whether under a decree of separation or otherwise", without her consent. Section 221 BNSS (formerly s.198B CrPC) bars cognizance where the persons are in a marital relationship except upon prima facie satisfaction of the facts on "a complaint having been filed or made by the wife against the husband".

Section 68 (abuse of position). A person in authority or a fiduciary relationship, a public servant, the superintendent or manager of a custodial or women's or children's institution, or hospital management or staff, who abuses that position to induce or seduce a woman in his custody or charge, or present in the premises, to have intercourse "not amounting to the offence of rape".

Section 69 (deceit or false promise). The elements are (1) sexual intercourse with a woman, (2) obtained by deceitful means or by a promise to marry made "without any intention of fulfilling the same", (3) not amounting to rape. On the text, the promise limb looks to the promisor's intention when the promise was made; a later failure to marry is not itself an element. Because the intercourse must be "not amounting to the offence of rape", s.69 is residual: where the facts establish rape under s.63, s.69 is not the charge.

Sections 70 and 71. Where a woman is raped by one or more persons "constituting a group or acting in furtherance of a common intention", each is deemed to have committed rape (s.70). A person previously convicted under s.64, 65, 66 or 70 and convicted again under any of them faces life for the remainder of natural life, or death (s.71).

Procedure and evidence: what the BNSS and BSA require

• Recording the information — s.173(1) BNSS, provisos. For offences under ss.64 to 71 (including s.69), 74 to 79 and 124, the woman's information is recorded by a woman police officer or woman officer; if she is mentally or physically disabled, at her residence or a place of her choice, with an interpreter or special educator, and videographed.
• Medical examination — s.184 BNSS (formerly s.164A CrPC). With her consent, the woman is sent to a registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours of the information; the report goes to the investigating officer "within a period of seven days" (s.164A(6) CrPC said "without delay").
• Time limits, privacy and treatment — ss.193(2), 346(1), 366(2), 397 BNSS. For offences under ss.64 to 68, 70 and 71: investigation within two months of the information; trial within two months of the chargesheet; inquiry and trial "in camera"; free first aid or treatment by every hospital, which must inform the police. Section 69 is absent from all four, although it appears in s.173(1).
• Evidence — s.48 BSA (formerly s.53A Evidence Act). In a prosecution under ss.64 to 71 (including s.69) or 74 to 78, evidence of the victim's character or previous sexual experience is not relevant to consent or its quality.
• Presumption — s.120 BSA (formerly s.114A Evidence Act). In a prosecution under s.64(2), where intercourse is proved and the woman states in evidence that she did not consent, "the Court shall presume that she did not consent".

Identity of the victim: Sections 72 and 73

Section 72(1) punishes printing or publishing the name, or "any matter which may make known the identity", of a victim of an offence under ss.64 to 71, with up to two years and fine. Section 72(2) permits publication only (a) by or under a written order of the officer in charge of the police station or the investigating officer, in good faith for the investigation; (b) by, or with the written authorisation of, the victim; or (c) where the victim is dead, a child or of unsound mind, with the next of kin's written authorisation — which may be given only to the chairman or secretary of a recognised welfare institution or organisation. Section 73 punishes publishing any matter relating to court proceedings in such a case without the court's previous permission; its Explanation excludes judgments of a High Court or the Supreme Court. Both are cognizable and bailable.

What happened to Section 377 IPC

Section 377 punished "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" with imprisonment for life or up to ten years, and fine. A whitespace-normalised search of the BNS Gazette text finds no "carnal", "order of nature" or "sodomy"; "unnatural" appears only as "unnatural lust" in s.38 and s.140(4).

Section 63 continues to define rape as an act by "a man" against "a woman". On the text, the offence s.377 created, which reached acts against men and animals, has no BNS equivalent; whether another BNS offence reaches particular facts depends on those facts.

What this means in practice

• Victim and family: the information goes to a woman officer (s.173(1) BNSS); identity is protected by s.72; character is irrelevant to consent (s.48 BSA); under ss.65 and 70 the fine is paid to the victim, and s.396(7) BNSS makes State compensation additional to it.
• Investigating officer: medical examination within twenty-four hours (s.184(1)), the report attached to the police report (s.193(3)(i)(h)), and investigation of offences under ss.64 to 68, 70 and 71 completed within two months.
• Accused and advocate: the date of the act and the victim's age decide between ss.64, 65(1), 65(2) and 70(2). In a s.69 case the contested element is intention at the time of the promise; in a s.67 case, confirm the wife's complaint under s.221 BNSS.
• Media: publish nothing that may identify the victim unless a s.72(2) route applies, and report proceedings only with the court's permission (s.73).

Judgments that still matter

Independent Thought v. Union of India, [2017] 13 S.C.R. 821 (2017 INSC 1030), 11 October 2017, Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta JJ., in two concurring opinions. Lokur J. held that Exception 2 to s.375 IPC must "now be meaningfully read as: 'Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape'" (para 105). He made clear that the larger issue of marital rape of adult women was "not at all dealt with" (para 106).

Gupta J. held Exception 2, "in so far as it relates to a girl child below 18 years", liable to be struck down under Articles 14, 15 and 21 and as inconsistent with POCSO, read it down, and said "this judgment will have prospective effect" (para 88); he expressed no view on marital rape (para 90). Bearing: Exception 2 to s.63 BNS now enacts the para 105 reading word for word; the question left open at para 106 is equally unanswered by the BNS, which keeps the exception for wives aged eighteen and above.

Pramod Suryabhan Pawar v. State of Maharashtra, [2019] 11 S.C.R. 423 (2019 INSC 939), 21 August 2019, Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee JJ. (judgment by Chandrachud J.). The Court distinguished a false promise, made with the intention "not to abide by it but to deceive the woman", from "a breach of a promise" made in good faith but not fulfilled (paras 14 and 16). It held that two propositions must be established (para 18):

• the promise "must have been a false promise, given in bad faith and with no intention of being adhered to at the time it was given"; and
• it must "be of immediate relevance, or bear a direct nexus to the woman's decision to engage in the sexual act".

Finding no false promise at inception on the FIR (para 20), the Court quashed it (para 23). Bearing: the case construed consent under s.375 IPC, not s.69 BNS; but s.69's words "without any intention of fulfilling the same" look to the same moment, so on a reading paras 16–18 are directly useful in s.69 cases.

State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh, [1996] 1 S.C.R. 532 (1996 INSC 75), 16 January 1996, Dr. A.S. Anand and S. Saghir Ahmad JJ. (judgment by Anand J.). The Court reversed an acquittal and convicted the respondents under s.376 IPC. It held that "the evidence of a victim of a sexual offence is entitled to great weight, absence of corroboration notwithstanding", read s.327(2) CrPC as a duty to hold rape trials "invariably 'in camera'", and criticised the trial court for repeatedly naming the victim: "Trial of rape cases in camera should be the rule and an open trial in such cases an exception." The report has no paragraph numbers.

Bearing: s.366(2) BNSS repeats the in-camera command, and ss.72 and 73 BNS continue s.228A IPC; on a reading, the guidance applies to trials under ss.64 to 68, 70 and 71.

Applying the new provisions — Appellant v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., 2026 INSC 44, 9 January 2026, B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan JJ. (judgment by Mahadevan J.). On a chargesheet under ss.65(1), 74, 137(2) and 352 BNS and the POCSO Act (para 8), the Court held that a plea of "consensual relationship is wholly untenable in law, particularly where the allegations extend beyond a single accused and involve coercion, intimidation and multiple perpetrators" (para 11). It cancelled the bail granted by the High Court (para 17). The judgment applies s.65(1) as charged; it does not construe its text.

Which law applies to your case

Section 358(2) BNS keeps IPC penalties and proceedings alive "as if that Code had not been repealed"; s.531(2)(a) BNSS continues pending investigations and trials under the CrPC; Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars conviction except under the law in force when the act was committed, and any greater penalty. On a reading of Article 20(1), conduct before 1 July 2024 is charged under the IPC section: s.69 cannot reach it, and death under s.70(2) is unavailable where s.376D or s.376DA applied. See which law applies to an offence before 1 July 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the definition of rape changed under Section 63 BNS?

Section 63 BNS reproduces the four acts in clauses (a) to (d) of Section 375 IPC and its seven descriptions of circumstances, renumbered from "First" to "Seventhly" as (i) to (vii). The definition of consent in Explanation 2 and Exception 1 (medical procedure) are unchanged. The one substantive change is in Exception 2, where the wife's age is raised from fifteen to eighteen years.

What does the marital exception in Section 63 BNS now say?

Exception 2 to Section 63 BNS reads: "Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape." Section 375 IPC said "fifteen". The Supreme Court had required the IPC exception to be read with "eighteen" in Independent Thought v. Union of India (2017), and expressly left open the wider question of marital rape of adult women.

What is the new offence under Section 69 BNS?

Section 69 BNS punishes sexual intercourse, not amounting to rape, had with a woman "by deceitful means or by making promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same". Its Explanation says deceitful means include inducement for, or false promise of, employment or promotion, or marrying by suppressing identity. The punishment is imprisonment of either description up to ten years and fine; the offence is cognizable, non-bailable and triable by the Court of Session.

Is gang rape of a girl aged sixteen or seventeen punishable with death under the BNS?

Yes. Section 70(2) BNS covers gang rape of a woman under eighteen and provides imprisonment for life meaning the remainder of natural life, and fine, or death. Under the IPC, Section 376DA (under sixteen) carried life for the remainder of natural life and fine without death, and Section 376DB (under twelve) allowed death. Victims aged sixteen and seventeen fell under Section 376D, with a minimum of twenty years.

Is Section 377 IPC in the BNS?

No. Section 377 IPC ("carnal intercourse against the order of nature") has no counterpart in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. A search of the Gazette text finds neither "carnal" nor "order of nature"; "unnatural" appears only in the phrase "unnatural lust" in Sections 38 and 140(4). Section 63 BNS continues to define rape as an offence by a man against a woman.

Can the name of a rape victim be published?

Section 72(1) BNS punishes printing or publishing the name, or any matter which may make known the identity, of a victim of an offence under Sections 64 to 71, with up to two years and fine. Section 72(2) allows publication only by or under a written police order for investigation, with the victim's written authorisation, or with the next of kin's authorisation to a recognised welfare institution. Section 73 separately punishes publishing court proceedings without the court's permission, but not the judgments of a High Court or the Supreme Court.

Do the special procedural rules for rape cases apply to Section 69?

Only some of them. Section 173(1) BNSS (information recorded by a woman officer) and Section 48 BSA (victim's character irrelevant to consent) both list Section 69. The two-month investigation limit in Section 193(2) BNSS, the two-month trial limit in Section 346(1), the in-camera rule in Section 366(2) and the free-treatment duty in Section 397 name Sections 64 to 68, 70 and 71 but not Section 69.

Which law applies to an offence committed before 1 July 2024?

Section 358(2) BNS keeps IPC penalties and proceedings alive "as if that Code had not been repealed", and Section 531(2)(a) BNSS keeps pending investigations and trials under the CrPC. On a reading of Article 20(1) of the Constitution, conduct before 1 July 2024 is charged under the IPC section, and the new Section 69 and the death penalty under Section 70(2) cannot apply to it.

Related

• Rape — IPC 375–376 vs BNS 63–71
• False promise of marriage — BNS Section 69
• IPC 377 omitted — what remains
• Sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking — BNS 75–78
• Offences against women — IPC vs BNS
• 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 164A CrPC vs Section 184 BNSS — Medical Examination of the Victim of Rape
• Section 327 CrPC vs Section 366 BNSS — Court to be Open and In-Camera Trials
• Sections 349–358 IPC vs Sections 128–136 BNS — Assault and Criminal Force

Sources

Acts and sections read (primary text):

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Gazette of India, CG-DL-E-25122023-250883): ss.38, 63–73, 140(4), 358; Chapter V headings; commencement footnote to s.1 in the official text.
• BNSS, 2023 (Gazette, -250884): ss.173(1), 184, 193(2)–(3), 221, 346(1), 366(2), 396(7), 397, 531(2)(a); First Schedule entries for ss.64–73. BSA, 2023 (Gazette, -250882): ss.48, 120.
• IPC, 1860 (original-PDF text): ss.228A, 375–376E, 377, with footnotes. CrPC, 1973: ss.164A, 198B; First Schedule entries for ss.376A–376E. Evidence Act, 1872: ss.53A, 114A.
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1).

Judgments read (Supreme Court, full text in the Veritect judgment corpus):

• Independent Thought v. Union of India, [2017] 13 S.C.R. 821 — 2017_13_821_920_EN.md
• Pramod Suryabhan Pawar v. State of Maharashtra, [2019] 11 S.C.R. 423 — 2019_11_423_443_EN.md
• State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh, [1996] 1 S.C.R. 532 — 1996_1_532_556_EN.md
• Appellant v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., 2026 INSC 44 — Diary_26489-2025_Judgment.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.