23 Mandatory Minimum Punishment under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
23 specific sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, that introduce or enhance mandatory minimum punishment. While the government has stated that mandatory minimum punishments have been introduced in 23 offenses, finding an exhaustive, definitive list of all 23 exact section provisions with their specific wordings for mandatory minimums can be challenging without access to the final, officially enacted and annotated text of the BNS and its accompanying legal interpretations.
However, based on available information and common explanations of the BNS, I can provide a comprehensive list of many of the most prominent sections where mandatory minimums are clearly established or significantly enhanced. This list will likely cover the majority, if not all, of the “23 offenses” the government has referred to.
The key phrasing to look for is "shall not be less than..." or "shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than..." or similar strong prescriptive language.
Here are the prominent sections in BNS, 2023, that include mandatory minimum punishments:
BNS Section 64 (Punishment for Rape)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to a fine.
- Impact: Ensures a minimum of 10 years for basic rape.
BNS Section 65(1) (Rape of a woman under 18 years of age)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to a fine.
- Impact: A significantly higher mandatory minimum for rape of minors.
BNS Section 65(2) (Rape of a woman under 12 years of age)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Maintains a very high mandatory minimum, with the possibility of natural life or death.
BNS Section 66 (Punishment for rape causing death or persistent vegetative state)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Extremely severe mandatory options for fatal or debilitating rape.
BNS Section 70 (Gang Rape – General Case)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to a fine.
- Impact: A mandatory minimum of 20 years for gang rape.
BNS Section 71 (Gang Rape of a woman under 18 years of age or repeat offender)
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- Provision: Imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death.
- Impact: The most severe mandatory options (natural life or death) for gang rape of a minor or repeat offenders.
BNS Section 95 (Hiring, employing or engaging a child to commit an offence)
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- Provision: Imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: A new offense with a clear mandatory minimum to protect children from being used in crime.
BNS Section 98 (Selling child for purposes of prostitution, etc.)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: High mandatory minimum for this severe form of child exploitation.
BNS Section 99 (Buying child for purposes of prostitution, etc.)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Mirroring the above, with a significant mandatory minimum for buyers.
BNS Section 102 (Punishment for murder by life-convict)
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- Provision: “…shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life.“
- Impact: Reintroduces extremely severe mandatory options for life convicts committing murder.
BNS Section 103(2) (Murder by a group of five or more persons on certain grounds – Mob Lynching)
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- Provision: “…each member of such group shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with death, and shall also be liable to fine.”
- Impact: Mandatory life imprisonment or death for this newly defined offense.
BNS Section 109 (Organized Crime)
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- If it results in death (Sub-section 2a): “death or with imprisonment for life and fine not less than rupees ten lakh.“
- In other cases (Sub-section 2b): “imprisonment for not less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine not less than rupees five lakh.“
- Abetment/Conspiracy/Facilitation/Membership (Sub-sections 3 & 4): “imprisonment for not less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine not less than rupees five lakh.“
- Harbouring (Sub-section 5): “imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine not less than rupees five lakh.“
- Possessing property derived from organized crime (Sub-section 6): “imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine not less than rupees two lakh.“
- Impact: Multiple mandatory minimums (both imprisonment and fines) across various facets of organized crime.
BNS Section 110 (Petty Organized Crime)
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- Provision: Imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year, but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Mandatory minimum for smaller-scale organized criminal activities.
BNS Section 113 (Terrorist Act)
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- If it results in death (Sub-section 2a): “death or imprisonment for life and fine.”
- In other cases (Sub-section 2b): “imprisonment for not less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine.”
- Abetment/Conspiracy/Facilitation/Organizing camp (Sub-sections 3 & 4): “imprisonment for not less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine.”
- Membership (Sub-section 5): “imprisonment for life and fine.”
- Harbouring (Sub-section 6): “imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine.”
- Impact: Similar to organized crime, comprehensive mandatory minimums for various roles in terrorist acts.
BNS Section 117(3) (Voluntarily causing Grievous Hurt resulting in Permanent Disability or Persistent Vegetative State)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: A high mandatory minimum for severe grievous hurt.
BNS Section 117(4) (Voluntarily causing Grievous Hurt by a group of five or more persons on certain grounds)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Mandatory minimum for “mob grievous hurt” on identity grounds.
BNS Section 139(2) (Maiming a child for the purpose of begging)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: A very high mandatory minimum for this horrific form of child exploitation.
BNS Section 143 (Human Trafficking – where it involves a child)
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- Provision: “…shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.” (This is often covered under broader human trafficking sections, with the BNS emphasizing stricter punishment for child victims).
- Impact: Clear mandatory minimum for child trafficking.
BNS Section 199 (Public servant disobeying direction under law – e.g., failure to record cognizable offense information)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months, but which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Introduces a mandatory minimum for specific instances of public servant dereliction of duty.
BNS Section 230(2) (Giving or fabricating false evidence upon which an innocent person suffers death)
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- Provision: “…shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.”
- Impact: While not a specific “minimum term,” these are the mandatory options, ensuring extreme punishment for causing wrongful death through false evidence.
BNS Section 303(2) (Punishment for theft – for repeat offenders where the value is not petty)
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- Provision: On a second or subsequent conviction for theft, imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Introduces a mandatory minimum for repeat theft offenders.
BNS Section 309(2) (Punishment for Robbery with use of deadly weapon)
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- Provision: Rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
- Impact: Increases the mandatory minimum for robbery involving deadly weapons, signalling a harsher approach to armed crime.
BNS Section 310(3) (Dacoity with murder)
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- Provision: “…shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.”
- Impact: Similar to other severe offenses, this mandates the harshest penalties for dacoity resulting in murder.
Important Note: The precise wording of “mandatory minimum” can sometimes be subtle, and some sections might imply a strong punitive intent without using the explicit “shall not be less than” phrasing (e.g., providing only death or life imprisonment as options). The list above focuses on sections that clearly fit the definition of a mandatory minimum sentence or are explicitly cited by government sources as having one.