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IPC · Chapter XXII · Of criminal intimidation, insult and annoyance

IPC section 510 in the BNS

IPC 510BNS 355

IPC section 510, “Misconduct in public by a drunken person”, is now BNS section 355 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 510 to BNS 355

Now BNS section 355. The maximum fine for misconduct in public by a drunken person rises from ₹10 to ₹1,000, and community service is added as a punishment.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 510 Misconduct in public by a drunken person

Whoever, in a state of intoxication, appears in any public place, or in any place which it is a trespass in him to enter, and there conducts himself in such a manner as to cause annoyance to any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty-four hours, or with fine which may extend to ten rupees, or with both.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 355 Misconduct in public by a drunken person

Whoever, in a state of intoxication, appears in any public place, or in any place which it is a trespass in him to enter, and there conducts himself in such a manner as to cause annoyance to any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty-four hours, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both or with community service.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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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