BNS Section 140: Kidnapping or abduction for ransom etc. (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 140 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) punishes the most serious forms of kidnapping and abduction, including kidnapping in order to murder and kidnapping for ransom. The BNS has been in force since 1 July 2024 and replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC). If you still look up "IPC 364A" for a ransom case, Section 140 is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what each part of Section 140 covers, how it maps to the old IPC sections, the punishment, and the classification. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number matters now

For generations, a ransom kidnapping meant "Section 364A" and a kidnapping to murder meant "Section 364". Those numbers ran through FIRs, charge sheets and bail orders. Since 1 July 2024 the numbers have changed. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and these offences now sit together in Section 140.

This matters in daily practice. An FIR for a kidnapping committed on or after 1 July 2024 is registered under the BNS, so it cites Section 140, not Section 364 or 364A. An older matter keeps its IPC number, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. For some years you will see both sets of numbers in live files, and you need to read each correctly.

02What Section 140 covers

Section 140 does not define kidnapping or abduction. Those terms are defined earlier in the BNS. Section 140 instead sets out four aggravated situations where a kidnapping or abduction is done for a very serious purpose, and fixes a heavier punishment for each.

In short, Section 140 deals with kidnapping or abduction done:

• in order to murder, or to put the person in danger of being murdered;
• for ransom, or by threatening or causing death or hurt to compel the Government, a foreign State, an international organisation or any person to act or not act;
• to secretly and wrongfully confine the person; or
• to subject the person to grievous hurt, slavery or unnatural lust, or knowing it is likely the person will be so subjected.

03The four parts and their punishment

Section 140 has four sub-sections, each with its own punishment.

• Section 140(1): kidnapping or abduction in order to murder, or so as to put the person in danger of being murdered. Punishment: imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment up to ten years, and a fine.
• Section 140(2): kidnapping or abduction for ransom, or where the accused threatens to cause, or causes, death or hurt to compel the Government, a foreign State, an international or inter-governmental organisation, or any other person, to do or not do any act, or to pay a ransom. Punishment: death, or imprisonment for life, and a fine. This is the gravest part of the section.
• Section 140(3): kidnapping or abduction with intent to cause the person to be secretly and wrongfully confined. Punishment: imprisonment of either description up to seven years, and a fine.
• Section 140(4): kidnapping or abduction in order to subject, or knowing it likely the person will be subjected, to grievous hurt, slavery or the unnatural lust of any person. Punishment: imprisonment of either description up to ten years, and a fine.

Section 140(2), kidnapping for ransom, is one of the few offences in the BNS that can attract the death penalty.

04Old to new: IPC to BNS 140

Section 140 gathers four separate IPC offences into one provision. The core conduct and punishment are carried over.

So the ransom offence that lawyers knew as IPC 364A is now Section 140(2) of the BNS. The structure is cleaner than the old code, which spread these offences across separate sections.

05Classification

The offences under Section 140 are among the most serious against the person, so they are treated accordingly.

• 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: the gravest parts, kidnapping to murder (140(1)) and kidnapping for ransom (140(2)), are tried by the Court of Session. The other parts are tried by a Magistrate of the first class.

Because Section 140(2) can carry the death penalty, courts treat it as among the rarest and most serious charges.

06What changed from the old law

The main change is structure, not substance. The four purposes and their punishments are carried over from IPC Sections 364, 364A, 365 and 367, so the older case law on those sections still guides how Section 140 is read.

Section 140(2) widens the ransom offence slightly by naming not only the Government and any person, but also a foreign State and an international or inter-governmental organisation, as targets of the threat. For the common ransom case, the position is the same as under the old Section 364A. A related offence, giving false evidence during the trial, is covered separately under Section 227 of the BNS.

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.

A ransom or kidnapping prosecution moves quickly, from FIR and remand through charge, trial and appeal, and precedent on the old Sections 364 and 364A still carries weight. With Claw you can read across 30 crore and more judgments, reaching back to Supreme Court rulings from 1950 and High Court rulings from 1990, and line up how a Sessions court or a High Court has treated each limb of Section 140. Claw also tracks the day to day of a matter, its cases, orders and listed hearings, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, and answers in under 5 seconds.

Your files are not training data: Claw does not use customer case documents to teach its AI models. Start a free Claw account to pull this body of rulings and to track a live kidnapping matter by party or advocate name. To range wider across Indian 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 140, 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.

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