CHAPTER V OF OFFENCES AGAINST WOMAN AND CHILD · Of sexual offences

Section 68: Sexual intercourse by a person in authority

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Whoever, being—

(a) in a position of authority or in a fiduciary relationship; or

(b) a public servant; or

(c) superintendent or manager of a jail, remand home or other place of custody established by or under any law for the time being in force, or a women’s or children’s institution; or

(d) on the management of a hospital or being on the staff of a hospital,

abuses such position or fiduciary relationship to induce or seduce any woman either in his custody or under his charge or present in the premises to have sexual intercourse with him, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation 1.— In this section, “sexual intercourse” shall mean any of the acts mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) of section 63.

Explanation 2.— For the purposes of this section, Explanation 1 to section 63 shall also be applicable.

Explanation 3.— “Superintendent”, in relation to a jail, remand home or other place of custody or a women’s or children’s institution, includes a person holding any other office in such jail, remand home, place or institution by virtue of which such person can exercise any authority or control over its inmates.

Explanation 4.—The expressions “hospital” and “women’s or children’s institution” shall respectively have the same meanings as in clauses (b) and (d) of the Explanation to sub-section (2) of section 64.

Corresponding IPC provision

As given in the correspondence table of the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs). Read both texts before relying on it. NCRB table

68	376C. Sexual intercourse by a person in authority.

Questions on this section

11 questions in 40 of our papers cite Section 68. Try these from the free papers:

1. A is the superintendent of a women's institution established under a law in force. He abuses his position to induce Z, a woman residing in the institution under his charge, to have sexual intercourse with him. The circumstances are such that the act does not amount to rape. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, A is liable under:
2. Under the proviso to Section 149 of the BSA, in a prosecution for an offence under any of Sections 64 to 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, or an attempt to commit such an offence, where the question of consent is in issue, it is not permissible to put questions in the cross-examination of the victim as to:
3. Consider the following statements: 1. Section 48 of the BSA, which makes evidence of the character or previous sexual experience of the victim irrelevant on the issue of consent, applies to prosecutions under Sections 64 to 71 and also Sections 74 to 78 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. 2. The proviso to Section 149 of the BSA, which bars questions in the cross-examination of the victim as to general immoral character or previous sexual experience, applies to prosecutions under Sections 64 to 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. 3. Each of these provisions also applies to a prosecution for an attempt to commit any of the offences it lists. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Practise questions on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita