Offences Affecting the Human Body under BNS
Chapter VI of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Sections 100–146, contains the principal offences affecting life, bodily integrity, personal liberty and freedom from exploitation. For examination purposes, this chapter is best studied as five connected blocks rather than as forty-seven isolated provisions.
Use this note with the BNS foundation article, the General Exceptions guide, and the article on abetment, conspiracy and attempt.
- Section 100 defines culpable homicide; Section 101 defines murder.
- Section 103 punishes murder; Section 105 punishes culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
- Section 106 addresses causing death by negligence, including a distinct rule for registered medical practitioners.
- Sections 111–113 introduce organised crime, petty organised crime and terrorist act within Chapter VI.
- Sections 114–117 provide the basic hurt/grievous-hurt framework.
- Sections 126–136 distinguish restraint, confinement, force and assault.
- Sections 137–146 cover kidnapping, abduction, trafficking, slavery and unlawful compulsory labour.
- Culpable homicide and murder
- Death by negligence and suicide abetment
- Organised crime, petty organised crime and terrorist act
- Hurt and grievous hurt
- Wrongful restraint and confinement
- Force and assault
- Kidnapping, abduction and trafficking
- Leading cases, distinctions and exam tools
Official Statutory Structure
The official BNS text is available on India Code and through the Ministry of Home Affairs New Criminal Laws portal. Chapter VI begins with Section 100 and ends with Section 146.
Part I — Offences Affecting Life: Sections 100–113
Section 100 — Culpable Homicide
Culpable homicide is the foundational homicide offence. A person commits culpable homicide where death is caused by an act done with the intention of causing death, the intention of causing bodily injury likely to cause death, or the knowledge that the act is likely to cause death.
The highest direct mental element in Section 100.
Focuses on the bodily injury intended.
Knowledge without the same degree of intention.
Section 101 — Murder
Murder is the aggravated form of culpable homicide. The classic rule remains: all murder is culpable homicide, but not all culpable homicide is murder. The court first asks whether Section 100 is satisfied, then whether the case falls within the aggravated clauses of Section 101, and finally whether any statutory exception reduces the offence.
Murder vs Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder
| Murder | Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder |
|---|---|
| Falls within Section 101 and outside its exceptions. | Falls within Section 100 but does not satisfy murder threshold or falls within an exception. |
| Punishment primarily under Section 103. | Punishment under Section 105. |
| Higher degree of probability/culpability under statutory clauses. | Lower degree or statutory mitigation. |
State of A.P. v. Rayavarapu Punnayya remains the leading conceptual authority. A recent Supreme Court judgment again applied its staged method for distinguishing murder from culpable homicide not amounting to murder; see the Supreme Court judgment dated 20 July 2023.
Section 102 — Transferred Homicide
Section 102 deals with the situation where the accused intends or knows himself likely to cause the death of one person but causes the death of another. The legal character of the homicide is determined as though the intended person had been killed. This reflects the doctrine commonly described as transferred malice or transferred intent.
Sections 103–106 — Punishment and Negligent Death
| Section | Subject | Core Point |
|---|---|---|
| 103 | Punishment for murder | Death or life imprisonment and fine; subsection (2) addresses group murder on specified identity-based grounds. |
| 104 | Murder by life-convict | Special punishment rule. |
| 105 | Culpable homicide not amounting to murder | Punishment varies according to intention or knowledge. |
| 106 | Causing death by negligence | Rash/negligent death; distinct treatment for registered medical practitioners and for specified hit-and-run conduct. |
Sections 107–110 — Suicide Abetment and Attempts Against Life
Abetment of suicide of a child, person of unsound mind, delirious person or intoxicated person.
General abetment of suicide.
Attempt to murder.
Attempt to commit culpable homicide.
In suicide-abetment cases, the principles of instigation, intentional aid and proximate mens rea remain central. Students should therefore cross-reference the BNS abetment article.
Sections 111–113 — Organised Crime, Petty Organised Crime and Terrorist Act
Organised crime—a major BNS addition dealing with continuing unlawful activity and organised crime syndicates, subject to the detailed statutory definition.
Petty organised crime—targets specified recurring group-based criminal activity of a lower order than Section 111.
Terrorist act—covers statutorily defined acts threatening sovereignty, unity, integrity, security or economic security, or intended/likely to strike terror.
Part II — Hurt and Grievous Hurt: Sections 114–125
Sections 114 and 115 — Hurt and Voluntarily Causing Hurt
Section 114 defines hurt in terms of bodily pain, disease or infirmity caused to any person. Section 115 addresses voluntarily causing hurt, requiring the relevant intention or knowledge and actual causation of hurt.
Sections 116 and 117 — Grievous Hurt
Section 116 identifies the statutorily recognised forms of grievous hurt. The classification matters because the law distinguishes ordinary bodily pain from serious, enduring or structurally significant injuries. Section 117 punishes voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
Sections 118–125 — Aggravated Hurt
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| 118 | Hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means |
| 119 | Hurt/grievous hurt to extort property or constrain illegal act |
| 120 | Hurt/grievous hurt to extort confession or compel restoration of property |
| 121 | Hurt/grievous hurt to deter public servant |
| 122 | Hurt/grievous hurt on provocation |
| 123 | Hurt by poison etc. with intent to commit offence |
| 124 | Grievous hurt by use of acid etc. |
| 125 | Act endangering life or personal safety of others |
Part III — Wrongful Restraint and Confinement
Voluntarily obstructing a person so as to prevent that person from proceeding in a direction in which he or she has a right to proceed, subject to the statutory exception.
A more aggravated form in which the person is prevented from proceeding beyond certain circumscribed limits.
Wrongful Restraint vs Wrongful Confinement
| Wrongful Restraint | Wrongful Confinement |
|---|---|
| Prevents movement in a particular direction. | Prevents movement beyond circumscribed limits. |
| Section 126. | Section 127. |
| Partial obstruction of liberty. | Total restraint within a bounded area. |
Part IV — Force and Assault: Sections 128–136
Defines force in physical interaction terms.
Adds the required intentional use of force without consent for specified unlawful purposes.
Gesture or preparation causing apprehension that criminal force is about to be used.
Sections 131–136 then punish assault or criminal force in different aggravated situations, including deterrence of a public servant, intent to dishonour, attempted theft from a person, attempted wrongful confinement and grave provocation.
Criminal Force vs Assault
Part V — Kidnapping, Abduction, Trafficking and Forced Labour
Sections 137 and 138 — Kidnapping and Abduction
Section 137 defines kidnapping, including kidnapping from India and kidnapping from lawful guardianship. Section 138 defines abduction through force or deceitful means inducing a person to move from one place to another.
| Kidnapping | Abduction |
|---|---|
| Section 137. | Section 138. |
| Includes removal from India or lawful guardianship in statutory circumstances. | Requires force or deceitful means inducing movement. |
| Often complete on the prohibited taking/enticing. | A continuing movement-based concept dependent on means and purpose. |
Sections 139–146 — Aggravated Liberty and Exploitation Offences
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| 139 | Kidnapping or maiming a child for purposes of begging |
| 140 | Kidnapping/abduction for murder, ransom and other specified purposes |
| 141 | Importation of girl or boy from foreign country |
| 142 | Wrongfully concealing or confining kidnapped/abducted person |
| 143 | Trafficking of person |
| 144 | Exploitation of a trafficked person |
| 145 | Habitual dealing in slaves |
| 146 | Unlawful compulsory labour |
Important Cases at a Glance
Three-stage analysis for murder vs culpable homicide.
Classic test concerning intended bodily injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death.
Leading principles on criminal medical negligence.
Instigation and suicide-abetment analysis.
How to Solve a Human-Body Offence Problem
- Identify the protected interest: life, bodily integrity, liberty or freedom from exploitation.
- Identify the physical act and result.
- Determine the required intention, knowledge, rashness or negligence.
- For death cases, apply Sections 100 and 101 before jumping to punishment.
- Check statutory exceptions and General Exceptions.
- For group activity, test Sections 111–113 only against their exact definitions.
- For hurt, match the injury with Sections 114 or 116.
- For movement/liberty offences, distinguish restraint, confinement, kidnapping and abduction.
- Check the BNSS First Schedule for cognizability, bailability and trial court.
Frequently Asked Examination Questions
- Distinguish culpable homicide from murder under the BNS.
- Explain Section 106 causing death by negligence.
- Distinguish attempt to murder from attempt to culpable homicide.
- Explain organised crime under Section 111.
- Distinguish hurt and grievous hurt.
- What is grievous hurt under Section 116?
- Distinguish wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement.
- Distinguish criminal force and assault.
- Distinguish kidnapping and abduction.
- Explain trafficking under Section 143.
- Write a note on unlawful compulsory labour.
Exam Answer Toolkit
Define the relevant section, state 3–4 ingredients, add one leading case or distinction, and conclude with the punishment provision where asked.
Add statutory structure, competing offences, mental element, exceptions, case law, comparison table and BNSS classification where relevant.
One-Minute Revision
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Culpable homicide? | Section 100 |
| Murder? | Section 101 |
| Punishment for murder? | Section 103 |
| Death by negligence? | Section 106 |
| Organised crime? | Section 111 |
| Hurt? | Section 114 |
| Grievous hurt? | Section 116 |
| Wrongful restraint? | Section 126 |
| Kidnapping? | Section 137 |
| Trafficking? | Section 143 |
Chapter VI is the core BNS chapter on offences against life, body and personal liberty. The highest-yield examination distinctions are murder vs culpable homicide, hurt vs grievous hurt, restraint vs confinement, criminal force vs assault, and kidnapping vs abduction.
Exam sequence: act/result → mental element → statutory definition → aggravated form → exception → punishment → BNSS classification.
Academic note: This material is intended for legal education and examination preparation. Students should consult the latest official BNS and BNSS texts and full judgments for authoritative study.