BNS Section 120: Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property (formerly IPC 330 and IPC 331)
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNS 120: Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property
From 1 July 2024
(1) Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security or to satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustrations.
(a) A, a police officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(b) A, a police officer, tortures B to induce him to point out where certain stolen property is deposited. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(c) A, a revenue officer, tortures Z in order to compel him to pay certain arrears of revenue due from Z. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(2) Whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for any purpose referred to in sub-section (1), shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
What it replaced in the IPC
BNS 120(1) ← IPC 330 · Voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of propertyChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: IPC section is included as a sub-section in BNS.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Whoever voluntarily causes hurt, for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security or to satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustrations
(a) A, a police-officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(b) A, a police-officer, tortures B to induce him to point out where certain stolen property is deposited. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(c) A, a revenue officer, tortures z in order to compel him to pay certain arrears of revenue due from Z. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(d) A, a zamindar, tortures a raiyat in order to compel him to pay his rent. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
BNS 120(2) ← IPC 331 · Voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of propertyChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: IPC section is included as a sub-section in BNS sans heading. Words “any purpose referred to in sub-section (1)” are added.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security, or to satisfy any claim or demand or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
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 330
They remain the law on IPC 330. 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 14.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 36.
- 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.