IPC · Chapter XVI · Of offences affecting the human body
IPC section 354B, “Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe”, is now BNS section 76 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 76. The offence begins “Whoever” (IPC: “Any man who”), but it remains an offence of assault on a woman with intent to disrobe her. Same punishment.
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Any man who assaults or uses criminal force to any woman or abets such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman or abets such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven 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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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.
The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.
