BNS Section 279: Fouling the Water of a Public Spring or Reservoir (IPC 277 Mapping) (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 279 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) punishes a person who fouls the water of a public spring or reservoir. It is a specific water-pollution offence, not the general law on public nuisance. If you searched for "BNS Section 279" expecting public nuisance, that is a renumbering mix-up. The definition of public nuisance sits elsewhere in the code. The fouling-of-water offence was Section 277 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and it is now Section 279 of the BNS. This explainer sets out what the section really covers, how it maps to the old law, the punishment, and the classification. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the number can mislead

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on 1 July 2024 and renumbered the chapter on offences affecting public health, safety and convenience. The general idea of public nuisance is still in the code, but it sits at a different number.

Section 279 of the BNS is a narrow, specific offence: fouling the water of a public spring or reservoir. It is not the general public nuisance provision. So read the words of the section, not just the number.

02What Section 279 covers

Section 279 of the BNS punishes a person who voluntarily corrupts or fouls the water of a public spring or reservoir, so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used.

The protected resource is a public source of water, such as a public spring, tank or reservoir that people rely on. The offence is made out when the water is made less fit for its usual purpose, for example drinking or bathing, by the accused acting voluntarily.

03Key ingredients

To make out an offence under Section 279, these points must be shown:

• the water was that of a public spring or reservoir;
• the accused voluntarily corrupted or fouled it; and
• the act rendered the water less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used.

The word "voluntarily" matters. The accused must have caused the fouling by an act he intended, or knew was likely to foul the water. Accidental or unforeseeable fouling is a different matter.

04Old to new: IPC 277 to BNS 279

Section 279 of the BNS carries forward Section 277 of the IPC. The conduct is the same, and the fine is now stated as a rupee figure.

So the fouling-of-water offence maps directly from the old Section 277 of the IPC to Section 279 of the BNS. Because the words are carried over, judgments on Section 277 still guide how Section 279 is read.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 279 is imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or both.

On classification, the bare-act sources show the offence as:

• Cognizable: the police can register and investigate without a prior court order.
• Bailable: bail is a matter of right, subject to conditions.
• Triable by any Magistrate.

Please confirm the exact row in the First Schedule of the BNSS before you act, because the First Schedule fixes the classification.

06What this means in practice

In practice, Section 279 is used to protect shared water sources from deliberate pollution. It is a short, bailable offence, but it can run alongside environmental and local public-health laws that deal with water pollution.

Because the text follows Section 277 of the IPC, older judgments on Section 277 still guide how Section 279 is read. When you research, search both numbers. For another public-health offence renumbered in the same part of the code, see the sale of noxious food or drink.

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.

Whether a pond or tank is a "public" spring or reservoir, and whether the water was made "less fit" for its ordinary use, are questions courts settle on the facts. On Claw you can read how benches have drawn those lines, pulling from more than 30 crore judgments and orders and following every case, listing and order under Section 277 or Section 279 across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with each search returning in under five seconds. Supreme Court records reach back to 1950 and High Court records to 1990, so the older water-pollution rulings sit beside the latest ones.

None of the case files you upload are used to train Claw AI models. Open a free Claw account to look up and watch water-fouling matters by section, party or advocate name. For a broader sweep of the statute book, try case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• Section 279, BNS (bare text and classification): devgan.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• 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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