BNS Section 103: Punishment for murder (formerly IPC 302)
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNS 103: Punishment for murder
From 1 July 2024
(1) Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) When a group of five or more persons acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other similar ground each member of such group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
What it replaced in the IPC
BNS 103(1) ← IPC 302 · Punishment for murderDrafting change only
BPR&D's comparison records a change of drafting only, so the substance is the same.
What changed, per BPR&D: No Change, except IPC section is included as subsection in BNS.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or [imprisonment for life], and shall also be liable to fine.
New in the BNS, with no IPC counterpart: BNS 103(2).
Which one applies
An offence is governed by the law in force when it was committed. An offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged and punished under the IPC; one committed on or after that date, under the BNS. Section 358 of the BNS, which repeals the IPC, preserves every liability and proceeding already incurred under it.
Read BNS section 358 →Judgments decided under IPC 302
They remain the law on IPC 302. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 11.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 34.
- The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.