Chapter XVII of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (sections 303–334) is the working code of property crime: theft, the new offence of snatching, extortion, robbery, dacoity, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, stolen property, cheating, fraudulent deeds, mischief and criminal trespass.
Theft and snatching
Section 303 defines and punishes theft in one place (IPC 378–379 lineage compressed). Repeat theft is treated more severely; a low-value first offence may attract community service where the section allows.
Section 304 creates snatching as a distinct offence: theft carried out by a sudden, quick or forcible seizure. Under the IPC, the same facts were usually charged as theft or robbery depending on whether death, hurt or restraint was used or threatened. Snatching gives investigation a middle path for mobile-phone and chain-pulling street crime without always elevating the case to robbery.
Robbery, dacoity and stolen property
Robbery and dacoity keep their classic relationship to theft and extortion (force or fear immediate to the taking). Dacoity remains robbery by five or more. Receiving stolen property expands definitional reach in places (including property obtained by extortion in the restated definition). Attempt and armed variants continue.
Breach of trust, cheating and mischief
Criminal breach of trust consolidates limbs and raises some maxima (general CBT maximum moves upward relative to older IPC 406 in the BNS packaging). Cheating combines definition and graded punishments; the old “420 IPC” cultural label corresponds to a BNS cheating limb (commonly discussed against section 318’s aggravated form—confirm on the bare text when drafting).
Mischief provisions expand certain injury-to-infrastructure themes (rail, aircraft) and animal-harm penalties. Criminal trespass and house-breaking are consolidated into clearer definition/punishment pairs.
Station-house checklist
| Fact pattern | First BNS stop |
|---|---|
| Pocket theft without force | § 303 |
| Phone yanked and run | § 304 (snatching) and/or 303 |
| Force or fear at the time of taking | Robbery cluster |
| Five or more | Dacoity |
| Entrusted property dishonestly used | CBT |
| Deception inducing delivery | Cheating |
Wrong IPC numbers (379, 380, 420) on a 2025 FIR are a training failure, not a neutral style choice.
Selected provisions
BNS section 303 (IPC 378)
Theft. Definition + punishment together; harder on repeat theft; low-value first offence may get community service.
BNS section 304 (no direct IPC twin)
Snatching. New: snatching - sudden/quick/forcible grab - up to 3 years + fine.
BNS section 309 (IPC 390)
Robbery. Consolidated theft/extortion robbery rules; restructured but substantive elements remain similar.
BNS section 314 (IPC 403)
Dishonest misappropriation of property. Introduced mandatory minimum six months imprisonment.
BNS section 316 (IPC 405)
Criminal breach of trust. CBT limbs in one section; general max 5 years (IPC 406: 3 years).
BNS section 317 (IPC 410)
Stolen property. Expanded stolen property definition to include extortion.
Section-level changes
Material differences (definition, punishment, scope or new offence):
| BNS | IPC counterpart | Subject | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 303 | IPC 378 | Theft | Definition + punishment together; harder on repeat theft; low-value first offence may get community service. |
| 304 | — | Snatching | New: snatching - sudden/quick/forcible grab - up to 3 years + fine. |
| 309 | IPC 390 | Robbery | Consolidated theft/extortion robbery rules; restructured but substantive elements remain similar. |
| 314 | IPC 403 | Dishonest misappropriation of property | Introduced mandatory minimum six months imprisonment. |
| 316 | IPC 405 | Criminal breach of trust | CBT limbs in one section; general max 5 years (IPC 406: 3 years). |
| 317 | IPC 410 | Stolen property | Expanded stolen property definition to include extortion. |
| 318 | IPC 415 | Cheating | Cheating definition + graded punishments; 318(4) is old 420 territory. |
| 320 | IPC 421 | Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent distributi… | Introduced mandatory minimum imprisonment of six months, replacing IPC 421’s discretionary term. |
| 322 | IPC 423 | Dishonest or fraudulent execution of deed of transfer containing false statement… | Enhanced maximum imprisonment from two years (IPC 423) to three years. |
| 323 | IPC 424 | Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property | Enhanced maximum imprisonment from two years (IPC 424) to three years. |
| 325 | IPC 428 | Mischief by killing or maiming animal | Increased maximum imprisonment from two years (IPC 428) to five years; removed value threshold. |
| 326 | IPC 430 | Mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc | Consolidated IPC 430/431; expanded scope to include fire/explosives with five-year imprisonment. |
| 327 | IPC 437 | Mischief with intent to destroy or make unsafe a rail, aircraft, decked vessel o… | Added “rail” and “aircraft” to IPC 437’s scope of vessels. |
| 329 | IPC 441 | Criminal trespass and house-trespass | Consolidated IPC 441 definition into a new section. |
| 330 | IPC 443 | House-trespass and house-breaking | Consolidated IPC 443 definition into a new section. |
| 331 | IPC 453 | Punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking | Consolidated IPC 453 punishment into a new section. |
| 332 | IPC 449 | House-trespass in order to commit offence | Compare full text. |
| 333 | IPC 452 | House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint | Added new sub-sections (b) and (c) for lesser offences; IPC 449 covered only death-punishable offences. |
| 334 | IPC 461 | Dishonestly breaking open receptacle containing property | Added sub-section (2) for entrusted persons; IPC 461 covered only general breaking. |
Citation map (renumbered only)
These provisions keep IPC substance under new numbers:
BNS 305 ← IPC 380, BNS 306 ← IPC 381, BNS 307 ← IPC 382, BNS 308 ← IPC 383, BNS 310 ← IPC 391, BNS 311 ← IPC 397, BNS 312 ← IPC 398, BNS 313 ← IPC 401, BNS 315 ← IPC 404, BNS 319 ← IPC 416, BNS 321 ← IPC 422, BNS 324 ← IPC 425, BNS 328 ← IPC 439.