Section 136 provides a lighter punishment — simple imprisonment up to one month, or fine up to ₹1,000, or both — where assault or criminal force is committed on grave and sudden provocation given by the victim, mirroring Section 131's Explanation on when provocation will not mitigate punishment.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 136 to old IPC Section 358, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts.
| BNS section | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 136 | 358 | Substantively changed |
The offence description and imprisonment term (simple imprisonment up to one month) are unchanged. The maximum fine has been increased from two hundred rupees under old IPC Section 358 to one thousand rupees under this section. The closing Explanation, cross-referring to the same Explanation as the general provocation-punishment provision (Section 131, formerly IPC 352), is preserved.
Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person on grave and sudden provocation given by that person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Explanation.—This section is subject to the same Explanation as section 131.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
This section is the mirror image of Section 131: where Section 131 punishes assault or criminal force committed "otherwise than" on grave and sudden provocation, this section punishes it where such provocation is present, but with a much lighter maximum sentence (simple imprisonment up to one month, versus imprisonment of either description up to three months under Section 131). The closing Explanation imports the same three disqualifying grounds set out in Section 131's Explanation 1 — provocation sought as an excuse, provocation from something done lawfully or by a public servant acting within their powers, or provocation from something done in lawful private defence — so an accused cannot rely on this lighter provision if the provocation falls into one of those categories.
Because this section applies specifically where the assault or criminal force was committed on genuine grave and sudden provocation given by the victim, which the law treats as a mitigating circumstance warranting a lighter maximum sentence.
No. The provocation must be "grave and sudden," and even then it will not count if it falls within one of the three disqualifying grounds imported from Section 131's Explanation (self-sought provocation, provocation from lawful official action, or provocation from lawful private defence).
Per the Quick Reference above, yes — it is non-cognizable, bailable, and triable by any Magistrate.