IPC · Chapter XVII · Of offences against property
IPC section 401, “Punishment for belonging to gang of thieves”, is now BNS section 313 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 313, “Punishment for belonging to gang of robbers, etc.”. It covers belonging to a gang associated for habitually committing theft or robbery; the references to “wandering” gangs and to thugs are dropped. Same punishment.
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Whoever, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall belong to any wandering or other gang of persons associated for the purpose of habitually committing theft or robbery, and not being a gang of thugs or dacoits, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Whoever belongs to any gang of persons associated in habitually committing theft or robbery, and not being a gang of dacoits, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term 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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.
