Section 125 punishes doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others, with escalating punishment where the act actually causes hurt or grievous hurt. Unlike the earlier hurt provisions, this section does not require an intention or knowledge of harm — mere rashness or negligence suffices.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which flags Section 125 overall as containing a change, mapping the general clause to old IPC Section 336, clause (a) to old IPC Section 337, and clause (b) to old IPC Section 338, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of all three provisions.
| BNS section | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 125 (general clause) | 336 | Substantively changed |
| 125(a) | 337 | Substantively changed |
| 125(b) | 338 | Substantively changed |
Comparing the texts word for word: the conduct description in all three tiers is unchanged, but the fines have increased substantially in each tier — the general clause's maximum fine rises from two hundred and fifty rupees to two thousand five hundred rupees; clause (a)'s from five hundred rupees to five thousand rupees; and clause (b)'s from one thousand rupees to ten thousand rupees. Clause (b) also raises the maximum imprisonment term from two years to three years.
| Clause | Conduct | Punishment |
|---|---|---|
| General clause | Rash or negligent act endangering life or personal safety, no hurt caused | Imprisonment for 3 months, or fine of ₹2,500, or both |
| (a) | Where hurt is caused | Imprisonment for 6 months, or fine of ₹5,000, or both |
| (b) | Where grievous hurt is caused | Imprisonment for 3 years, or fine of ₹10,000, or both |
Whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to two thousand five hundred rupees, or with both, but—
(a) where hurt is caused, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both;
(b) where grievous hurt is caused, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
This clause punishes rash or negligent conduct that endangers human life or personal safety, even where no hurt actually results. Unlike Sections 115 and 117, no intention or knowledge of causing harm is required — rashness or negligence alone is sufficient.
This clause escalates the punishment where the same rash or negligent conduct actually causes hurt to a person.
This clause escalates the punishment further where the rash or negligent conduct causes grievous hurt, carrying the highest punishment of the three tiers.
This judgment relates to Section 125 as a whole rather than to one specific sub-section, and so is presented together here rather than alongside a particular clause above.
A driver who had been drinking ran his car into a group of people sleeping on a footpath, killing seven labourers and injuring eight others. He was convicted both of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (for the deaths) and, for the same single reckless act, separately under the "endangering life or personal safety" provisions corresponding to this section. The Supreme Court held these two kinds of charges are not mutually exclusive: the graver homicide charge addresses the consequence (death actually caused) while this section's own charge addresses the dangerous character of the act itself, and a single rash or negligent act that happens to also cause death can support both without any unfairness to the accused, since he was fully aware of everything he was being charged with.
Currency check: decided 12 January 2012; no overruling found as of the date this page was last reviewed.
No. Unlike the "voluntarily causing hurt" provisions, this section applies to rash or negligent conduct, without requiring intention or knowledge of causing hurt.
The general clause still applies — the offence is complete once the act is done so rashly or negligently as to endanger life or personal safety, even if no hurt actually results. Clauses (a) and (b) escalate the punishment only where hurt, or grievous hurt, actually results.
Yes. Per the BNSS First Schedule, all three tiers are cognizable and bailable, triable by any Magistrate.