IPC · Chapter XVI · Of offences affecting the human body

IPC section 320 in the BNS

IPC 320BNS 116

IPC section 320, “Grievous hurt”, is now BNS section 116 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 320 to BNS 116

Now BNS section 116. The last kind of grievous hurt is now hurt that endangers life or causes severe bodily pain or inability to follow ordinary pursuits for fifteen days (IPC: twenty days). The other seven kinds are unchanged.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 320 Grievous hurt

The following kinds of hurt only are designated as “grievous”:—

First.—Emasculation.

Secondly.—Permanent privation of the sight of either eye.

Thirdly.—Permanent privation of the hearing of either ear.

Fourthly.—Privation of any member or joint.

Fifthly.—Destruction or permanent impairing of the powers of any member or joint.

Sixthly.—Permanent disfiguration of the head or face.

Seventhly.—Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth.

Eighthly.—Any hurt which endangers life or which causes the sufferer to be during the space of twenty days in severe bodily pain, or unable to follow his ordinary pursuits.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 116 Grievous hurt

The following kinds of hurt only are designated as “grievous”, namely:—

(a) Emasculation;

(b) Permanent privation of the sight of either eye;

(d) Privation of any member or joint;

(e) Destruction or permanent impairing of the powers of any member or joint;

(f) Permanent disfiguration of the head or face;

(g) Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth;

(h) Any hurt which endangers life or which causes the sufferer to be during the space of fifteen days in severe bodily pain, or unable to follow his ordinary pursuits.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.