IPC · Chapter XXII · Of criminal intimidation, insult and annoyance
IPC section 504, “Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace”, is now BNS section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 352. Insult “in any manner” with intent to provoke a breach of the peace is covered. Same punishment: up to two years, or fine, or both.
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Whoever intentionally insults in any manner, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.
