IPC · Chapter VI · Of offences against the State

IPC section 121A in the BNS

IPC 121ABNS 148

IPC section 121A, “Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121”, is now BNS section 148 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 121A to BNS 148

Now BNS section 148. The conspiracy may be “within or without and beyond India” (IPC: “within or without India”); same punishment. It now refers to waging war under section 147.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 121A Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121

Whoever within or without India conspires to commit any of the offences punishable by section 121, or conspires to overawe, by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force, the Central Government or any State Government, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.—To constitute a conspiracy under this section, it is not necessary that any act or illegal omission shall take place in pursuance thereof.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 148 Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 147

Whoever within or without and beyond India conspires to commit any of the offences punishable by section 147, or conspires to overawe, by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force, the Central Government or any State Government, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.—To constitute a conspiracy under this section, it is not necessary that any act or illegal omission shall take place in pursuance thereof.

The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)). The repeal does not reach back: under section 358(2), penalties and punishments incurred for offences committed against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed. An act done before 1 July 2024 is therefore dealt with under the IPC section; an act done on or after that date, under the BNS.