Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 20

Act of a Child Under Seven Years of Age

Section 20 provides an absolute exemption from criminal responsibility: nothing done by a child under seven years of age is an offence at all, regardless of the nature of the act or the child's actual understanding of it.

Please note: This page reflects our understanding of the law as of the date it was last reviewed. Parliament, the State Legislatures, and the courts continue to amend and interpret this law, and this page may not yet reflect the most recent change. Please verify the current text of the law independently, and consult a licensed advocate for advice on your own matter, before relying on this page.

Corresponding Provision Under Prior Law

Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal) and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Section 20 is marked Exact correspondence:

BNS 20	Covers	IPC, 1860 equivalent	Category
20	Act of a child under seven years of age	S.82 (word-for-word identical rule)	Exact

Comparing the bare text directly, BNS Section 20 reproduces old IPC Section 82 without any change whatsoever, down to the exact wording.

Quick Reference

Section 20 is a General Exception — an absolute exemption from criminal responsibility, not itself a stand-alone offence. It carries no BNSS First Schedule entry and no cognizable/bailable/compoundable/triable-court classification of its own; it operates as a complete defence to whatever charge the act might otherwise attract.

What it requires: only the child's age at the time of the act — under seven years of age. Nothing about the child's actual understanding, intelligence, or the nature of the act is relevant; the exemption is automatic and absolute below this age.
Effect where it applies: the act done is not an offence at all.

Statutory Text (Verbatim)

Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age.

Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.

Explanation & Illustration (Lexovia's Commentary — Not Statutory Text)

An absolute, age-based exemption

Explanation (Lexovia's Commentary)

This section establishes what is often called an irrebuttable presumption of criminal incapacity: a child under seven years of age is conclusively treated as incapable of committing any offence, no matter how serious the act or how apparently deliberate it seemed. Unlike Section 21 (which governs children between seven and twelve and turns on the individual child's actual maturity of understanding), this section asks nothing about the particular child's intelligence, awareness, or capacity to appreciate the nature and consequences of the act. The line is drawn purely by age, and it is absolute: there is no exception, no case-by-case inquiry, and no room for the prosecution to argue that a particular child under seven was unusually mature or aware.

Illustration (Lexovia's Own Example)

A six-year-old child, playing with a kitchen knife found unattended, deliberately cuts another child's arm during a dispute over a toy, causing a visible wound. Even though the six-year-old clearly intended to cut the other child and understood, in a basic sense, that this would hurt, no offence has been committed, because the acting child was under seven years of age at the time. This section bars any prosecution of the six-year-old outright, regardless of how the act is otherwise viewed.

Want legal research on any topic or drafting? Order Now →

Related / Cross-Referenced Sections

FAQs

Does it matter how mature or aware the child actually was?

No. This section applies purely on the basis of age. A child under seven is exempt regardless of actual maturity, intelligence, or awareness of the act's consequences.

Is this exemption available for any type of act, however serious?

Yes. The exemption is absolute and applies to any act done by a child under seven, without exception based on the nature or seriousness of the act.

What happens once the child turns seven?

From age seven onward, this absolute exemption no longer applies; Section 21 governs children between seven and twelve, based on their actual maturity of understanding.