BNS vs IPC: the Key Changes, Section by Section (2026)

Explainer · BNS vs IPC · Section Mapping

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

If you practise criminal law in India, the hardest thing about the 2024 reform is simple to state: the section numbers you memorised no longer match the code in force. Murder is no longer 302, cheating is no longer 420, and 498A has a new number. This guide sets out how the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) differs from the Indian Penal Code (IPC), gives a verified mapping table of the most-searched sections, and explains what actually changed beyond the renumbering. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the change from IPC to BNS is confusing

The confusion is not about ideas. It is about numbers and overlap. For a century, Indian lawyers spoke in IPC numbers. A "302 case" meant murder. A "420" meant a cheat. Those numbers were a shared shorthand across courts, police stations, and clients.

From 1 July 2024, the BNS replaced the IPC, and the numbers moved. The offence is usually the same, but the label is new. Worse, both codes are live at once, because old offences stay under the IPC. So a practitioner has to hold two numbering systems in mind and, when searching for case law, look under both the IPC section and its BNS equivalent to find everything on point.

02BNS vs IPC: the basics

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 on 1 July 2024. The BNS has 358 sections. The old IPC had around 511 sections, so the new code is shorter and reorganised.

At a high level, three things are true. First, most offences carry over, often with the same ingredients and similar punishments, under new numbers. Second, some offences were merged, split, or re-grouped, so the mapping is not always one to one. Third, the BNS added genuinely new offences and a new punishment option (community service). The detail of any single offence should always be read in its own section. For the wider reform, see the new criminal laws overview.

03The most-searched IPC to BNS section mappings

The table below maps the IPC sections people search for most to their BNS equivalents. Each has been checked against the published text. Where an offence sits inside a larger section, the sub-section is shown. Read the full section before you rely on it, because some mappings involve changes in wording or structure, not just the number.

Note one important point on sedition. The old IPC 124A was repealed, not simply renumbered. BNS Section 152 creates a different offence, about acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, so treat it as a new provision, not a like-for-like swap.

04What changed beyond the renumbering

The BNS is not only the IPC with new numbers. Several changes are substantive.

New offences

The BNS adds organised crime and terrorism as general offences, a standalone offence of snatching, and mob lynching as a named form of murder on identity grounds. These did not exist as separate general offences in the IPC in the same way.

Community service

For some minor offences, such as petty theft, defamation, or a public servant unlawfully engaging in trade, the BNS allows community service as a punishment. This is a new kind of sentence in the general penal code.

Re-grouping and tidying

Many offences were re-ordered into cleaner chapters, and some gender-related offences were grouped together. A few old sections were dropped, including the offence that criminalised certain consensual acts, which had already been read down by the Supreme Court. Always read the specific section, because the ingredients and the punishment may have been adjusted.

The safest rule during the transition: never assume a crime kept its number, and never assume it kept its exact wording. Check the section.

05How to work with both codes in practice

• Map before you draft. Convert the IPC section to its BNS equivalent (and back) before you draft a notice, complaint, or opinion. Use the IPC to BNS converter as a quick reference.
• Search under both numbers. Case law built up under the IPC is still good law for interpretation. When you research, search the old section and the new one together.
• Check the date of the offence. The date decides which code applies. See will old IPC and CrPC cases continue.
• Remember procedure and evidence moved too. The CrPC became the BNSS and the Evidence Act became the BSA. See BNSS vs CrPC and BSA vs the Evidence Act.

06Where 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.

For the BNS transition, the practical need is to find authority under both numbering systems and to keep track of matters filed under either code. Claw helps with both. You can search 30 crore+ judgments by section, party or advocate, with results in under 5 seconds, so you can pull case law under IPC 302 and BNS 103 in the same search. You can also track live cases across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with automatic updates, cause lists, and WhatsApp and email alerts.

Claw does not give legal advice and does not use customer case documents to train AI models. See also case search across Indian courts.

07Sources and further reading

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (India Code): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs: mha.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Section mappings are a practical aid, not a substitute for reading the current text of each provision. Check the official text and take advice from counsel for any specific case.

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