Child

Section 2(3) of the BNS defines "child" as any person below the age of eighteen years. The IPC had no general definition of child; the BNS adds one and uses it across offences such as those against children and the employment of a child to commit an offence. The age of eighteen is the common thread in Indian child protection law, but the wording and coverage vary from statute to statute, and examiners exploit those variations.

Section 2(1)(d) of the POCSO Act, 2012 uses the same words as the BNS: any person below eighteen. Section 2(12) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 speaks of a person who has not completed eighteen years, and Section 2(13) builds on it for a "child in conflict with law", judged by age on the date of the offence. Section 2(f) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 also uses the completed age of eighteen and requires verifiable parental consent for processing a child's data under Section 9. Section 2(b) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 extends "child" to an adopted, step or foster child below eighteen. The outlier is Section 2(a) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: a male is a child until he completes twenty one years and a female until she completes eighteen.

Separate from the definition is criminal responsibility. Under Section 20 of the BNS nothing is an offence done by a child under seven years. Under Section 21 a child above seven and under twelve is protected only if he has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct. These rules correspond to Sections 82 and 83 of the IPC.

Examiners test the definition in Section 2(3) of the BNS, the different male age in child marriage law, the extended domestic violence meaning, and the doli incapax ages of seven and twelve.