IPC · Chapter IV · General exceptions
IPC section 83, “Act of a child above seven and under twelve of immature understanding”, is now BNS section 21 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 21, with the same exception for a child above seven and under twelve; “years of age” is added after “twelve”.
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Nothing is an offence which is done by a child above seven years of age and under twelve, who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge of the nature and consequences of his conduct on that occasion.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Nothing is an offence which is done by a child above seven years of age and under twelve years of age, who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge of the nature and consequences of his conduct on that occasion.
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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed.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.
