IPC · Chapter XVI · Of offences affecting the human body

IPC section 326 in the BNS

IPC 326BNS 118(2)

IPC section 326, “Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means”, is now BNS section 118(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 326 to BNS 118

Now sub-section (2) of BNS section 118. Grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means now carries a minimum: imprisonment for life, or at least one year and up to ten, and fine (IPC: no minimum).

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 326 Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means

Whoever, except in the case provided for by section 335, voluntarily causes grievous hurt by means of any instrument for shooting, stabbing or cutting, or any instrument which, used as a weapon of offence, is likely to cause death, or by means of fire or any heated substance, or by means of any poison or any corrosive substance, or by means of any explosive substance, or by means of any substance which it is deleterious to the human body to inhale, to swallow, or to receive into the blood, or by means of any animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 118 Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means

The part that carries IPC 326 is marked.

(1) Whoever, except in the case provided for by sub-section (1) of section 122, voluntarily causes hurt by means of any instrument for shooting, stabbing or cutting, or any instrument which, used as a weapon of offence, is likely to cause death, or by means of fire or any heated substance, or by means of any poison or any corrosive substance, or by means of any explosive substance, or by means of any substance which it is deleterious to the human body to inhale, to swallow, or to receive into the blood, or by means of any animal, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees, or with both.

(2) Whoever, except in the case provided for by sub-section (2) of section 122, voluntarily causes grievous hurt by any means referred to in sub-section (1), shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

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.

Also in BNS 118

Other IPC sections that went to the same place

IPC 324 Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means → BNS 118(1)

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.