IPC · Chapter III · Of punishments
IPC section 53, “Punishments”, is now BNS section 4 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 4. The list of punishments gains a new one: community service (clause (f)). The others, death, imprisonment for life, rigorous or simple imprisonment, forfeiture of property and fine, are unchanged.
Indian Penal Code, 1860
The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are—
First.—Death;
Secondly.—Imprisonment for life;
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Fourthly.—Imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely:—
(1) Rigorous, that is, with hard labour;
(2) Simple;
Fifthly.—Forfeiture of property;
Sixthly.—Fine.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Sanhita are—
(a) Death;
(b) Imprisonment for life;
(c) Imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely:—
(1) Rigorous, that is, with hard labour;
(2) Simple;
(d) Forfeiture of property;
(e) Fine;
(f) 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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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.
The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.
