IPC to BNS Section Numbers: Mapping Table and How to Revise It

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 kept almost every offence of the Indian Penal Code but gave it a new number, so murder is now punished under section 103 (formerly section 302) and cheating that induces delivery of property under section 318(4) (formerly section 420). There is no formula that converts one number into the other, because the BNS regrouped the chapters and folded definitions and punishments into single sections. The reliable way to learn the new numbers is by clusters, anchored to a few sections you already know well, and checked against the text rather than a forwarded chart.

Why did the IPC section numbers change in the BNS?

The numbers changed because the BNS compressed 511 sections into 358 and rearranged the order of chapters. Three structural decisions explain most of the movement.

First, a definition and its punishment now usually sit in one section. Theft was defined in section 378 IPC and punished in section 379; the BNS puts both in section 303, with the definition in sub-section (1) and the punishment in sub-section (2). The same pattern runs through criminal breach of trust (section 316), cheating (section 318), criminal intimidation (section 351) and defamation (section 356).

Second, offences against women and children were pulled forward into a new Chapter V, sections 63 to 99, placed before offences affecting the human body. Rape, which was section 375 IPC, is now section 63, and dowry death moved from section 304B to section 80.

Third, several general explanations were gathered into section 3. Common intention, the old section 34 IPC, is now sub-section (5) of section 3. This single change trips more students than any other, because "34" in the BNS now means the right of private defence.

The IPC itself is repealed by section 358, but sub-section (2) saves anything done, any liability incurred and any proceeding relating to offences committed under the old Code. An offence committed before 1 July 2024 is still charged and tried under the IPC numbers, which is why you will keep meeting both sets in judgments for years.

Which IPC sections map to which BNS sections?

The table below covers the offences that appear most often in prelims questions and mains problems. Each pairing follows the correspondence table published by the National Crime Records Bureau and was checked against the official text of the BNS.

Read the table as a starting point. The BNS sometimes splits one IPC section across two sub-sections. Criminal intimidation is the clearest case: the old section 506 had a plain limb and an aggravated limb for threats to cause death or grievous hurt, and these now sit in section 351(2) and section 351(3).

How were the BNS chapters reorganised?

The chapters now run in this order: punishments in Chapter II (sections 4 to 13), general exceptions in Chapter III (sections 14 to 44), abetment, conspiracy and attempt in Chapter IV (sections 45 to 62), offences against woman and child in Chapter V (sections 63 to 99), offences affecting the human body in Chapter VI (sections 100 to 146) and offences against the State in Chapter VII (from section 147). Public tranquillity begins at section 189, offences against property at section 303, offences relating to documents at section 335, and criminal intimidation, insult and defamation at section 351.

Knowing where a chapter starts gives you a rough address for any offence. If a question asks about snatching, you know it belongs in the property chapter that opens at 303, and you find it immediately after theft, at section 304.

Which offences were dropped, merged or newly added?

Several IPC provisions have no direct counterpart, and examiners like to ask about them because the answer cannot be memorised from a mapping chart.

1. Section 377 IPC, already read down in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India to exclude consensual acts between adults, has no equivalent in the BNS.
2. Adultery under section 497 IPC, struck down in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018), does not appear.
3. Attempt to commit suicide, section 309 IPC, is not reproduced as a general offence. Section 226 BNS punishes only an attempt to commit suicide made with intent to compel or restrain a public servant from discharging official duty.
4. Sedition under section 124A IPC is gone. Section 152 BNS creates a different offence of acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, and the NCRB table lists it as a new section rather than a renumbered one.
5. Section 303 IPC, which made death mandatory for murder by a life convict, was struck down in Mithu v. State of Punjab. Section 104 BNS covers the same situation but allows death or imprisonment for life, meaning the remainder of natural life, so the sentencing discretion that Mithu insisted on is preserved.

New offences include organised crime (section 111), petty organised crime (section 112), terrorist act (section 113), snatching (section 304), sexual intercourse by deceitful means or a false promise to marry (section 69), and murder by a group of five or more on grounds such as race, caste or community (section 103(2)). Community service also appears for the first time as a punishment in section 4(f).

A worked example: converting an old charge into BNS numbers

Suppose an FIR registered in March 2024 alleges that three persons, acting together, beat a shopkeeper and threatened to kill him if he complained. The charge sheet would cite sections 323 and 506 read with section 34 IPC, and the trial continues under those numbers because the offence was committed before 1 July 2024.

Now suppose the same incident took place in August 2024. The correct citation is section 115(2) and section 351(3) read with section 3(5) BNS. Section 351(3) applies rather than 351(2) because the threat was to cause death.

A second illustration. A builder takes advance payments on the strength of a forged allotment letter. Under the old Code the charge would read sections 420, 468 and 471 with 120B IPC. Under the BNS it becomes sections 318(4), 336(3) and 340(2) read with section 61(2). Write it out once in each direction and the pattern sticks far better than reading the pair in a list.

How can you revise both codes without mixing them up?

The working method is to treat the BNS number as the main entry and the IPC number as a footnote, never the reverse.

1. Fix anchor sections first. Learn 63 (rape), 100 to 103 (homicide), 303 (theft), 316 and 318 (breach of trust and cheating), and 351 and 356 (intimidation and defamation). Most other numbers can be located by their distance from these.
2. Always write the new number first. In notes and answers, write "section 101 BNS (formerly section 300 IPC)". Writing it in the same order every time builds the habit examiners reward.
3. Re-tag the leading cases. Virsa Singh, K.M. Nanavati and Bachan Singh were decided on the IPC. Note the BNS section beside each case name so that the principle attaches to the new number. The section 103 page lists the leading cases decided on section 302 IPC alongside the new text.
4. Keep a list of false friends. The same number often means something entirely different in the two codes. Section 302 BNS punishes uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings, not murder. Section 34 BNS is private defence. Section 307 BNS is theft after preparation for causing death or hurt, not attempt to murder.
5. Drill in both directions. Take ten IPC sections and convert them, then take ten BNS sections and convert them back. The BNS mock tests are useful here because a timed question exposes hesitation that untimed reading hides.
6. Read the text whenever a sub-section matters. Mapping charts often stop at the section level. The punishment for theft is in section 303(2), not section 303, and an answer that cites only "section 303" loses precision.

For a fuller method of working through a statute, see the post on reading a bare act properly.

How do examiners test the IPC to BNS mapping?

Objective questions on the mapping can take three forms: direct correspondence ("the offence of dowry death is now punishable under which section"), identification of new offences ("which of the following is a new offence under the BNS"), and deleted provisions ("which IPC offence has no counterpart"). Options are usually close numbers, such as 101, 103 and 105, so a vague memory of "around a hundred" is not enough.

Mains problems test application. A fact pattern may describe a group attack, and the marks depend on choosing between section 3(5), section 190 and section 103(2), each of which has different ingredients. A common mistake is to apply section 190 to a group of three, forgetting that an unlawful assembly under section 189 still needs five or more persons.

Another frequent error is citing the BNS for an offence committed before 1 July 2024. If the problem gives a date, look at it before you choose the code. Re-solving older previous year papers with the BNS number written beside every IPC section is a quick way to convert material you already have.

For recent High Court and Supreme Court decisions that apply the new numbers, the LegalFirms judgments index is a convenient place to read how courts are actually citing the BNS. If you need a plain-language refresher on why the bailable or non-bailable label matters for an offence, the LegalFirms guide on bailable and non-bailable offences explains it from the accused person's side.

Key points to remember

• The BNS has 358 sections against 511 in the IPC, and it came into force on 1 July 2024.
• Offences committed before 1 July 2024 continue under the IPC because of the savings clause in section 358(2).
• Common intention is section 3(5), unlawful assembly is section 189 and common object is section 190.
• Murder is defined in section 101 and punished in section 103(1); section 103(2) is a new group offence.
• Section 377, adultery and sedition have no direct BNS counterpart; section 152 is a new and differently worded offence.
• Many offences now combine definition and punishment in one section, so cite the sub-section.
• Treat numbers like 34, 302 and 307 as false friends: they mean different things in the two codes.

Where to go next

Open the BNS bare act and read Chapters V and VI from start to finish, noting the old number beside each section as you go. If you are revising the old Code for a pending case or a paper that still asks it, the IPC bare act is kept on the site for comparison. Then test yourself with the BNS mock tests and return to the table above for any number you got wrong.