LawpatraLawpatra.ai

Lawpatra is an AI-powered legal education platform designed to help aspirants crack premier law entrance and judiciary examinations. With adaptive mock tests, precision analytics, and 24/7 personalized AI tutoring, we provide a comprehensive ecosystem for your entire legal career journey.

Test series on the goGoogle Play

Explore

  • Prepare for our exams
  • Bare Acts
  • Blog
  • Download resources

Company

  • About
  • Careers
  • Contact us

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Account deletion

Product

  • AI Tutor
  • Features
  • How it works

Law Entrances

  • CLAT
  • CLAT PG
  • AILET
  • SLAT
  • MH CET Law

Judiciary

  • MPSC Civil Judge
  • Chhattisgarh Judiciary
  • OPSC Civil Judge
  • Gujarat Judiciary
  • Delhi Judicial Services
  • UP PCS-J
  • Rajasthan Judiciary Service

APO/ADPO

  • Bihar APO
  • Delhi APP
  • Haryana ADA
  • Madhya Pradesh ADPO
  • Rajasthan APO
  • Uttar Pradesh APO
  • Uttarakhand APO

Bare Acts

  • BNS
  • BNSS
  • BSA
  • IPC
  • CrPC
  • IEA
  • HMA
  • IDA
  • MVA

© 2026 Blingwork Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Offices: Hyderabad & Jodhpur

LawpatraLawpatra
BNS, 2023
Start Practicing
BNSChapter VISection 117
Section117

Voluntarily causing grievous hurt

AI Assist

Summary

A person is guilty of voluntarily causing grievous hurt only when he causes grievous hurt and intends it or knows it is likely to occur. The normal penalty is imprisonment up to seven years and a fine. If the act causes permanent disability or a persistent vegetative state the punishment is rigorous imprisonment for not less than ten years and may extend to life. If five or more people cause grievous hurt for discriminatory grounds, each can be punished up to seven years and a fine.

Example

Ravi strikes Aditya on the head with a heavy rod intending to permanently disable him. Aditya becomes permanently disabled. Ravi faces rigorous imprisonment of not less than ten years and up to life.

Bare Act

Enacted text

(1) Whoever, voluntarily causes hurt, if the hurt which he intends to cause or knows himself to be likely to cause is grievous hurt, and if the hurt which he causes is grievous hurt, is said “voluntarily to cause grievous hurt”.

(2) Whoever, except in the case provided for by sub-section (3), voluntarily causes grievous hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation

A person is not said voluntarily to cause grievous hurt except when he both causes grievous hurt and intends or knows himself to be likely to cause grievous hurt. But he is said voluntarily to cause grievous hurt, if intending or knowing himself to be likely to cause grievous hurt of one kind, he actually causes grievous hurt of another kind.

Illustration

A, intending of knowing himself to be likely permanently to disfigure Z’s face, gives Z a blow which does not permanently disfigure Z’s face, but which causes Z to suffer severe bodily pain for the space of fifteen days. A has voluntarily caused grievous hurt.

(3) Whoever commits an offence under sub-section (1) and in the course of such commission causes any hurt to a person which causes that person to be in permanent disability or in persistent vegetative state, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life.

(4) When grievous hurt of a person is caused by a group of five or more persons on the ground of his, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other ground, each member of such group shall be guilty of the offence of causing grievous hurt, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Keep going
Newsletter

Join the top 1% of law aspirants

Get weekly high-yield legal updates, landmark judgment breakdowns, and smart prep strategies sent straight to your inbox.

We never share your email.

Previous year papers

Pick your exam. we'll email the most recent paper.

Download previous year papers

For

We'll never share your email. Promise.

VI

Chapter VI

Of Offences Affecting The Human Body

In this chapter

  • 100Culpable homicide
  • 101Murder
  • 102Culpable homicide by causing death of person other than person whose death was intended
  • 103Punishment for murder
  • 104Punishment for murder by life-convict
  • 105Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder
  • 106Causing death by negligence
  • 107Abetment of suicide of child or person of unsound mind
  • 108Abetment of suicide
  • 109Attempt to murder
  • 110Attempt to commit culpable homicide
  • 111Organised crime
  • 112Petty organised crime
  • 113Terrorist act
  • 114Hurt
  • 115Voluntarily causing hurt
  • 116Grievous hurt
  • 117Voluntarily causing grievous hurt
  • 118Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means
  • 119Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort property, or to constrain to an illegal to an act
  • 120Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property
  • 121Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty
  • 122Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt on provocation
  • 123Causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence
  • 124Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc
  • 125Act endangering life or personal safety of others
  • 126Wrongful restraint
  • 127Wrongful confinement
  • 128Force
  • 129Criminal force
  • 130Assault
  • 131Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation
  • 132Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty
  • 133Assault or criminal force with intent to dishonor person, otherwise than on grave provocation
  • 134Assault or criminal force in attempt to commit theft of property carried by a person
  • 135Assault or criminal force in attempt wrongfully to confine a person
  • 136Assault or criminal force on grave provocation
  • 137Kidnapping
  • 138Abduction
  • 139Kidnapping or maiming a child for purposes of begging
  • 140Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom etc
  • 141Importation of girl or boy from foreign country
  • 142Wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement, kidnapped or abducted person
  • 143Trafficking of person
  • 144Exploitation of a trafficked person
  • 145Habitual dealing in slaves
  • 146Unlawful compulsory labour
Previous · Section 116Grievous hurtNext · Section 118Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means