The Bare Act
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Browse by chapter
20 chapters · 358 sections
Chapter XIX
Of Criminal Intimidation, Insult, Annoyance, Defamation, Etc.
7 sections
- Section 351Criminal intimidation
- Section 352Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace
- Section 353Statements conducing to public mischief
- Section 354Act caused by inducing person to believe that he will be rendered an object of the Divine displeasure
- Section 355Misconduct in public by a drunken person
- Section 356Defamation
- Section 357Breach of contract to attend on and supply wants of helpless person
Chapter XIX
Of Criminal Intimidation, Insult, Annoyance, Defamation, Etc.
7 sections
- Section 351Criminal intimidation
- Section 352Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace
- Section 353Statements conducing to public mischief
- Section 354Act caused by inducing person to believe that he will be rendered an object of the Divine displeasure
- Section 355Misconduct in public by a drunken person
- Section 356Defamation
- Section 357Breach of contract to attend on and supply wants of helpless person
About the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) is India’s primary criminal code. It came into force on 1 July 2024, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which had governed criminal offences in India for over 160 years. The BNS is one of three criminal-law statutes overhauled in 2023 — alongside the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (which replaced the CrPC) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (which replaced the Indian Evidence Act).
The act runs to roughly 358 sections, organised into 20 chapters. While the substantive structure largely mirrors the IPC, the BNS reorganises offences, introduces community service as a form of punishment, codifies new offences (such as terrorism and organised crime) and removes archaic categories that had fallen out of use. Where a BNS section has a direct IPC ancestor, the corresponding IPC section is noted on the section page.
This page indexes the full text of every BNS section, sourced and kept current with official notifications. Use the search above to find a section by keyword (e.g. “rape”, “abetment”) or by section number. Use the IPC converter if you’re translating an older IPC reference into its BNS equivalent.