After homicide, the BNS continues the human-body title with hurt, grievous hurt, wrongful restraint and confinement, criminal force and assault, kidnapping and abduction, and trafficking / exploitation themes (sections 114–146). Under the IPC these were the bulk of Chapter XVI after section 304A.
Hurt and grievous hurt
Simple hurt and grievous hurt keep the IPC’s medical-legal flavour: hurt is bodily pain, disease or infirmity; grievous hurt is the listed serious categories (emasculation, permanent sensory loss, bone fracture, and the other classic heads as restated). Section numbers move, and some punishment ranges are restated. Voluntarily causing hurt to extort property or to constrain to an illegal act, hurt by dangerous weapons, and hurt to public servants remain graded offences.
These sections dominate magisterial dockets. Remapping IPC 319–338 equivalents is routine police-station work under the BNS.
Wrongful restraint, confinement, force and assault
Wrongful restraint and confinement (IPC 339–348 lineage) and criminal force/assault (IPC 349–358 lineage) continue with renumbering. The difference between force and assault—assault as a gesture creating apprehension, force as actual contact—remains exam-critical.
Kidnapping, abduction and trafficking
Kidnapping from lawful guardianship, kidnapping/abduction for murder, for ransom, for slavery, and related wrongs are restated. Child-centred drafting appears more consistently. Trafficking and exploitation provisions reflect the IPC’s later amendments and BNS redrafting; they sit beside special laws (Immoral Traffic, Bonded Labour, POCSO) rather than replacing them.
Importation of girls, slavery, and forced labour offences remain part of this continuum—check the bare act for the exact BNS numbers when charging.
How this block connects to Chapter V
Sexual assault and child sexual offences primarily live in sections 63–99. Kidnapping a child to force a marriage or to subject the child to sexual exploitation can engage both chapters plus POCSO. Good charge-sheets separate the body-offence theory (114–146) from the sexual-offence theory (63–99) even when facts intertwine.
Selected provisions
BNS section 115 (IPC 321)
Voluntarily causing hurt. Definition + punishment together; fine up to ₹10,000 (IPC 323: ₹1,000).
BNS section 116 (IPC 320)
Grievous hurt. Grievous hurt severe-pain window: 15 days (IPC 320: 20 days).
BNS section 118 (IPC 324)
Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means. Removed “or with fine” from punishment clause.
BNS section 119 (IPC 328)
Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort property, or to constrain to a…. Consolidated IPC 328/329; added punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (up to 10 years/fine).
BNS section 120 (IPC 331)
Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel resto…. Added punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (extortion/confession).
BNS section 121 (IPC 333)
Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty. Added punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (up to 5 years/fine/both).
Section-level changes
Material differences (definition, punishment, scope or new offence):
| BNS | IPC counterpart | Subject | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 115 | IPC 321 | Voluntarily causing hurt | Definition + punishment together; fine up to ₹10,000 (IPC 323: ₹1,000). |
| 116 | IPC 320 | Grievous hurt | Grievous hurt severe-pain window: 15 days (IPC 320: 20 days). |
| 118 | IPC 324 | Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means | Removed “or with fine” from punishment clause. |
| 119 | IPC 328 | Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort property, or to constrain to… | Consolidated IPC 328/329; added punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (up to 10 years/fine). |
| 120 | IPC 331 | Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel res… | Added punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (extortion/confession). |
| 121 | IPC 333 | Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty | Added punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (up to 5 years/fine/both). |
| 122 | IPC 335 | Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt on provocation | Consolidates IPC 334/335; adds hurt on provocation; reduces grievous hurt term from 4 to unspecified years. |
| 123 | IPC 326A | Causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence | Covers poison/stupefying drugs; reduces max term from life to 10 years. |
| 124 | IPC 326B | Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc | Expands scope to include vegetative state; retains 10-year minimum. |
| 125 | IPC 336 | Act endangering life or personal safety of others | Significantly increases fines and imprisonment terms for hurt/grievous hurt outcomes. |
| 131 | IPC 352 | Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation | Fine increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000; added specific provocation exclusions. |
| 136 | IPC 358 | Assault or criminal force on grave provocation. Of kidnapping, abduction, slaver… | Fine increased from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000. |
| 139 | IPC 363 | Kidnapping or maiming a child for purposes of begging | Consolidates IPC 363/363A; mandates minimum 10 years for kidnapping for begging and 20 years for maiming. |
| 140 | IPC 363A | Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom, etc | Now covers kidnapping to murder/ransom, replacing IPC 363/363A scope. |
| 141 | IPC 366B | Importation of girl or boy from foreign country | Extends protection to boys under 18, not just girls. |
| 143 | IPC 370 | Trafficking of person | Clarifies “exploitation” definition and recruitment methods. |
| 144 | IPC 370A | Exploitation of a trafficked person | Increases maximum sentence for adult sexual exploitation from 5 to 7 years. |
Citation map (renumbered only)
These provisions keep IPC substance under new numbers:
BNS 114 ← IPC 319, BNS 117 ← IPC 322, BNS 126 ← IPC 339, BNS 127 ← IPC 340, BNS 128 ← IPC 349, BNS 129 ← IPC 350, BNS 130 ← IPC 351, BNS 132 ← IPC 353, BNS 133 ← IPC 355, BNS 134 ← IPC 356, BNS 135 ← IPC 357, BNS 137 ← IPC 359, BNS 138 ← IPC 362, BNS 142 ← IPC 368, BNS 145 ← IPC 371, BNS 146 ← IPC 374.