Section 352 BNS: Intentional Insult (Old IPC 504)

A shouting match outside a house, an abusive call, a heated exchange at work. When one of these turns into a police complaint, the section that used to be added was IPC 504. Since 1 July 2024 it is Section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The section is short, but it is one of the most misused, and courts quash a lot of cases filed under it. Here is what it covers, what has to be shown, and how the case runs.

What Section 352 says

Whoever intentionally insults someone in any manner, and so provokes them, intending or knowing it to be likely that the provocation will make them break the public peace or commit another offence, is punished with up to two years, or fine, or both.

It is the same as IPC 504, with one addition: the words "in any manner". An insult by text, voice note, social media post or gesture is covered as much as one said face to face.

What has to be proved

1. the accused insulted the person intentionally;
2. the insult provoked them; and
3. the accused intended, or knew it was likely, that the provocation would make them break the public peace or commit an offence.

The third point is what separates a crime from bad manners. In Fiona Shrikhande v. State of Maharashtra (2013) the Supreme Court said the test is whether the insult is of a kind that would normally provoke a person to break the peace, not whether the complainant actually lost their temper. In Vikram Johar v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2019) it held that abusive language alone, without facts showing that intention, does not make out the offence, and quashed the case.

In practice this means a complaint that only says "he abused me in filthy language" is weak. A strong one says what was said, where, who heard it, and why it was meant to start a fight.

Sections that come along with it

Section 352 is rarely charged alone. These are the ones that usually sit next to it in an FIR:

Each needs its own facts. A threat belongs under Section 351, criminal intimidation. Obscene words in a public place fall under Section 296. Words or gestures meant to insult a woman's modesty are Section 79, which is cognizable. For any other old number, use the IPC to BNS converter.

How the case runs

Section 352 is non-cognizable, bailable and triable by any Magistrate. So:

• If you complain of an insult alone, the police note it in their diary under Section 174 of the BNSSand refer you to the Magistrate. They need the Magistrate's order to investigate.
• You can file a complaint directly before the Magistrate under Section 223 of the BNSS. Under the new proviso, the Magistrate must give the accused a chance to be heard before taking cognizance.
• If the same incident also involved a cognizable offence, like hurt or outraging modesty, the whole case is treated as cognizable and the police register an FIR.
• The accused gets bail as of right, and arrest is rare.

If you are the accused

Read the complaint for the words actually alleged. If it gives no specific words, or nothing that shows an intent to provoke a breach of the peace, the case can be challenged. You can ask the High Court to quash it under Section 528 of the BNSS, the old CrPC 482. Courts are more willing to do this where the FIR looks like a counterblast to a civil or family dispute.

The offence can also be compounded by the person insulted, without the court's permission, under Section 359 of the BNSS. Many of these cases end that way.

Questions people ask

Holding an old FIR with "504" on it? The IPC 504 page shows the new section side by side with the old text.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the bare Act and speak to a lawyer about your own case.