Section 124 punishes causing permanent or partial damage, deformity, disfigurement, disability, or a permanent vegetative state by throwing or administering acid or similar substances, and separately punishes attempting to do so, with the fine required to be applied toward the victim's medical treatment.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps sub-section (1) to old IPC Section 326A and sub-section (2) to old IPC Section 326B.
| BNS section | IPC, 1860 equivalent (per concordance) | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 124(1) | 326A | Substantively changed |
| 124(2) | 326B | Exact |
Sourcing note: this project's local copy of the IPC predates the amending Act that inserted Sections 326A and 326B (the acid-attack provisions), so neither section appears in it. Both sections' actual current text was independently verified against two matching secondary reproductions of the amended Act and is the version compared here.
Sub-section (2)'s wording is reproduced from old IPC Section 326B without any change. Sub-section (1) carries a genuine addition: old IPC Section 326A's list of outcomes (permanent or partial damage or deformity, burns, maiming, disfigurement, disability, or grievous hurt) does not include "permanent vegetative state." Section 124(1) adds this as a further outcome, and its own Explanation 2 extends the irreversibility carve-out to cover it as well — neither of which has any equivalent in old Section 326A.
| Sub-section | Conduct | Punishment | Cognizable / Bailable / Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc. | Imprisonment for not less than 10 years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine | Cognizable, Non-bailable, Court of Session |
| (2) | Voluntarily throwing or attempting to throw acid | Imprisonment for 5 years but which may extend to 7 years, and fine | Cognizable, Non-bailable, Court of Session |
(1) Whoever causes permanent or partial damage or deformity to, or burns or maims or disfigures or disables, any part or parts of the body of a person or causes grievous hurt by throwing acid on or by administering acid to that person, or by using any other means with the intention of causing or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause such injury or hurt or causes a person to be in a permanent vegetative state shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine: Provided that such fine shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses of the treatment of the victim: Provided further that any fine imposed under this sub-section shall be paid to the victim.
(2) Whoever throws or attempts to throw acid on any person or attempts to administer acid to any person, or attempts to use any other means, with the intention of causing permanent or partial damage or deformity or burns or maiming or disfigurement or disability or grievous hurt to that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation 1.—For the purposes of this section, "acid" includes any substance which has acidic or corrosive character or burning nature, that is capable of causing bodily injury leading to scars or disfigurement or temporary or permanent disability.
Explanation 2.—For the purposes of this section, permanent or partial damage or deformity or permanent vegetative state shall not be required to be irreversible.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
This sub-section punishes actually causing permanent or partial damage, deformity, disfigurement, disability, burns, or a permanent vegetative state, whether by acid or by any other means, with either intent or mere knowledge that such injury is likely. The two provisos require the fine to be calibrated to the victim's medical treatment costs and paid directly to the victim, rather than to the State.
This sub-section punishes the attempt itself — throwing or attempting to throw acid, attempting to administer it, or attempting to use any other means with the intention of causing the kinds of injury described in sub-section (1) — even where no injury actually results.
This judgment relates to Section 124 as a whole rather than to one specific sub-section, and so is presented together here rather than alongside a particular clause above.
An accused charged under this provision's old-law equivalent (IPC Section 326A) sought to have the charge dropped, arguing that since his medical report described the victim's injury as only a “simple” one, the charge — whose own title speaks of “grievous hurt” by acid — could not stand. The Supreme Court rejected that argument on a close reading of the provision itself: the section actually lists eight distinct kinds of injury an acid attack can cause (permanent damage, partial damage, deformity, burns, maiming, disfigurement, disability, or grievous hurt), and only the eighth of these turns on how serious the injury is. The other seven apply whether the resulting injury is simple or grievous. The word “grievous” in the section's own title, the Court held, is just a general label and does not narrow what the section actually covers. In other words, Section 124 is not limited to the worst acid-attack injuries — any of the listed kinds of harm, serious or not, brings the attacker within this section.
Currency check: decided September 2018; no overruling found in this review.
The fine is paid directly to the victim, and must be just and reasonable to meet the victim's medical treatment expenses — this is an express requirement of the two provisos in sub-section (1).
No. Explanation 2 clarifies that permanent or partial damage, deformity, or a permanent vegetative state need not be irreversible for this section to apply.
No. Sub-section (2) punishes the attempt itself — throwing, attempting to throw, or attempting to administer acid, or attempting to use any other means — even where the attempt fails and no injury results.
No. Per the BNSS First Schedule, both sub-sections are cognizable and non-bailable, triable by the Court of Session.