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IPC · Chapter XVI · Of offences affecting the human body

IPC section 352 in the BNS

IPC 352BNS 131

IPC section 352, “Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation”, is now BNS section 131 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 352 to BNS 131

Now BNS section 131. The maximum fine for assault or criminal force (without grave provocation) rises from ₹500 to ₹1,000; imprisonment stays at up to three months.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 352 Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person otherwise than on grave and sudden provocation given by that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

Explanation.—Grave and sudden provocation will not mitigate the punishment for an offence under this section, if the provocation is sought or voluntarily provoked by the offender as an excuse for the offence, or if the provocation is given by anything done in obedience to the law, or by a public servant, in the lawful exercise of the powers of such public servant, or if the provocation is given by anything done in the lawful exercise of the right of private defence.

Whether the provocation was grave and sudden enough to mitigate the offence, is a question of fact.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 131 Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person otherwise than on grave and sudden provocation given by that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

Explanation 1.—Grave and sudden provocation will not mitigate the punishment for an offence under this section,—

(a) if the provocation is sought or voluntarily provoked by the offender as an excuse for the offence; or

(b) if the provocation is given by anything done in obedience to the law, or by a public servant, in the lawful exercise of the powers of such public servant; or

(c) if the provocation is given by anything done in the lawful exercise of the right of private defence.

Explanation 2.—Whether the provocation was grave and sudden enough to mitigate the offence, is a question of fact.

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.

Sources

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