IPC · Chapter VII · Of offences relating to the Army, Navy and Air Force
IPC section 139, “Persons subject to certain Acts”, is now BNS section 167 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 167. The persons excluded from this Chapter are those subject to the Air Force Act, 1950, the Army Act, 1950 and the Navy Act, 1957 (the IPC listed the older service Acts).
Indian Penal Code, 1860
No person subject to the Army Act, the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), the Naval Discipline Act, the Indian Navy (Discipline) Act, 1934 (34 of 1934), the Air Force Act or the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), is subject to punishment under this Code for any of the offences defined in this Chapter.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
No person subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950) and the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957), or shall be subject to punishment under this Sanhita for any of the offences defined in this Chapter.
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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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.
The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.
