BNS Section 104: Punishment for murder by life-convict (formerly IPC 303)
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNS 104: Punishment for murder by life-convict
From 1 July 2024
Whoever, being under sentence of imprisonment for life, commits murder, shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life, which shall mean the remainder of that person’s natural life.
What it replaced in the IPC
BNS 104 ← IPC 303 · Punishment for murder by life-convictChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: BNS gives an alternate punishment for the life-convict murderer as death 'or with imprisonment for life, which shall mean the remainder of that person’s natural life', whereas in IPC, only punishment is a death sentence for murder by a life convict.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Whoever, being under sentence of [imprisonment for life], commits murder, shall be punished with death.
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 303
They remain the law on IPC 303. 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 12.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 35.
- 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.