BNS Section 123: Causing hurt by means of poison (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code in force since 1 July 2024, punishes causing hurt by poison or a stupefying, intoxicating or unwholesome substance, with intent to commit an offence. It replaced Section 328 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The punishment is imprisonment up to ten years and a fine. If you still look up "section 328 IPC", this is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 123 covers, how it maps to the old law, the punishment, and the classification. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number matters now

Spiking a drink, drugging a victim before a robbery, or poisoning food was punished under Section 328 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Since 1 July 2024 the IPC is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and this offence is now Section 123.

This matters in practice. An FIR for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2024 is registered under the BNS, so it cites Section 123, not Section 328. An older case keeps its IPC number, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. So for a while you will see both numbers in live matters.

02What Section 123 covers

Section 123 of the BNS punishes administering to, or causing to be taken by, any person any poison, or any stupefying, intoxicating or unwholesome drug or other thing. It applies where this is done with intent to cause hurt to that person, or to commit or facilitate the commission of an offence, or with the knowledge that it is likely to cause hurt.

In plain terms, this is the provision for drugging or poisoning a person as a means to another crime, such as robbery, theft or assault, or simply to hurt them. The substance can be a poison, or any drug or thing that stupefies, intoxicates or is unwholesome.

03Key ingredients

To bring a case under Section 123, the prosecution must show:

• that the accused administered, or caused to be taken, a poison or a stupefying, intoxicating or unwholesome drug or other thing;
• that it was given to a person; and
• that it was done with intent to cause hurt, or to commit or facilitate an offence, or with knowledge that hurt was likely.

Because the intent to commit or facilitate another offence is part of the section, the facts often sit alongside a charge for the offence that the drugging was meant to enable.

04Old to new: IPC 328 to BNS 123

Section 328 of the IPC is now Section 123 of the BNS. The substance, the intent and the knowledge requirements are carried over.

This is a clean one-to-one renumbering, so the mapping is straightforward: old Section 328 is new Section 123.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 123 is imprisonment of either description for up to ten years, and a fine.

On classification, the offence is:

• Cognizable: the police can register an FIR and investigate without prior approval of a court.
• Non-bailable: bail is not a matter of right and is decided by the court.
• Triable by the Court of Session.

This classification is stated on the bare-text source for the section.

06What changed from the old law

For this offence, the change is mostly the number. The elements, poison or a drugging substance given with intent to hurt or to commit an offence, are carried over, so case law under Section 328 of the IPC still guides how Section 123 is read.

Do not confuse Section 123 with the neighbouring hurt offences: hurt to extort a confession or property is Section 120, hurt to deter a public servant is Section 121, and hurt on provocation is Section 122. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Poisoning and drugging cases are serious, often tied to a robbery or assault charge, and they can run for years through trial and appeal. Claw lets you follow how courts have read this offence under the new Section 123 and the old Section 328, drawing on more than 30 crore judgments that answer in under 5 seconds and that reach back through the High Courts to 1990 and the Supreme Court to 1950. For a matter in progress, Claw tracks its cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.

Your uploaded case files are never used to train Claw's AI models, so a brief on a poisoning matter stays confidential. Start a free Claw account to search and follow these cases by party or advocate name. For the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS overview and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• Section 123, BNS (bare text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions