Section 63 defines the offence of rape. It is a two-part definition: first, one of four described physical acts (at clauses (a) to (d)) must occur; second, that act must take place under one of seven described circumstances (at clauses (i) to (vii)), such as against the woman's will, without her consent, or where she is under eighteen years of age. Two Explanations clarify the meaning of "vagina" and of "consent," and two Exceptions carve out a genuine medical procedure and, subject to the wife not being under eighteen years of age, sexual intercourse or sexual acts between a man and his own wife.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 63 to old IPC Section 375, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Section 63 is marked Substantively changed, with an important source limitation noted below:
| BNS 63 | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | Rape (definition) | S.375 (definition substantially broadened) | Substantively changed |
Source limitation: this project's local copy of the IPC contains only the original 1860 text of Section 375 — a narrower definition covering "sexual intercourse" under six described circumstances, with the age threshold at sixteen years, no explanation of "consent," and a marital exception keyed to the wife not being under fifteen years of age. Comparing the bare text directly against this local copy, BNS 63 differs substantially: it defines the offence through four broader physical acts (a)–(d) rather than "sexual intercourse" alone, adds a seventh circumstance (inability to communicate consent), raises the age threshold to eighteen years, adds Explanation 2 defining consent, and raises the marital exception's age threshold to eighteen years. These differences are consistent with a well-known legislative broadening of the definition of rape that Parliament enacted by amendment to the Indian Penal Code some years after 1860 and before the Sanhita's own enactment in 2023 — but because this project's local IPC source text predates that amendment, we cannot verify BNS 63 against the actual, immediately-prior text of IPC Section 375 as it stood just before repeal, only against the original 1860 text. We flag this source limitation explicitly rather than presenting a false impression of certainty about the precise scope of the change.
A man is said to commit “rape” if he—
(a) penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person; or
(b) inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body, not being the penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person; or
(c) manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of body of such woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person; or
(d) applies his mouth to the vagina, anus, urethra of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person,
under the circumstances falling under any of the following seven descriptions:—
(i) against her will;
(ii) without her consent;
(iii) with her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested, in fear of death or of hurt;
(iv) with her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married;
(v) with her consent when, at the time of giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent;
(vi) with or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age;
(vii) when she is unable to communicate consent.
Explanation 1.—For the purposes of this section, “vagina” shall also include labia majora.
Explanation 2.—Consent means an unequivocal voluntary agreement when the woman by words, gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication, communicates willingness to participate in the specific sexual act:
Provided that a woman who does not physically resist to the act of penetration shall not by the reason only of that fact, be regarded as consenting to the sexual activity.
Exception 1.—A medical procedure or intervention shall not constitute rape.
Exception 2.—Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Before turning to each physical act individually, one point applies to all four: none of clauses (a) through (d) is, on its own, rape. Each must also occur under one of the seven circumstances at (i) through (vii) — most commonly, that the act was against the woman's will, without her consent, or that she was under eighteen years of age regardless of consent. Explanation 2's definition of consent (an unequivocal, voluntary agreement, communicated by words, gestures, or other verbal or non-verbal means, with the absence of physical resistance alone not amounting to consent) governs how "consent" is read throughout circumstances (ii) through (v). Explanation 1 clarifies that "vagina," wherever it appears in clauses (a) through (c), includes the labia majora. Exception 1 removes a genuine medical procedure or intervention from the offence entirely, and Exception 2 removes sexual intercourse or sexual acts between a man and his own wife, provided she is not under eighteen years of age.
This clause is the core, most commonly encountered form of the offence: penile penetration, to any extent, of the vagina, mouth, urethra, or anus of a woman, whether the man penetrates her himself or makes her do so with him or with another person. "To any extent" means that even slight penetration is sufficient; full penetration is not required for the act itself to fall within this clause (though, as always, one of the seven circumstances at (i)–(vii) must also be present for the act to amount to rape).
This clause extends the offence beyond penile acts to cover insertion, to any extent, of any object or any part of the body other than the penis into the vagina, urethra, or anus of a woman, again whether done by the man himself or made to be done by her with him or another person. This recognises that non-penile forms of forced or non-consensual penetration cause comparable harm and fall within the same offence.
This clause covers a man manipulating any part of a woman's body so as to cause penetration into her vagina, urethra, anus, or any part of her body, whether he does this himself or makes her do so with him or another person. This is broader still than clause (b): rather than the man directly inserting an object or body part, he causes penetration to occur through manipulation, which may include manipulating the woman's own body or causing her to act.
This clause covers a man applying his mouth to the vagina, anus, or urethra of a woman, or making her do so with him or another person. Alongside clauses (a) through (c), this completes the four physical acts through which the offence of rape may be committed, provided one of the seven circumstances at (i) through (vii) is also present.
These judgment(s) relate to Section 63 as a whole rather than to one specific sub-section, and so are presented together here rather than alongside a particular clause above.
Extensive treatment of 'without her consent' (IPC s.375 second clause) and s.90 IPC misconception of fact, including promise to marry; relevant to consent limb of BNS 63 and its proviso on consent.
No. Explanation 2's proviso expressly states that a woman who does not physically resist the act of penetration is not, by that fact alone, to be regarded as consenting to the sexual activity.
Yes. Circumstance (vi) applies "with or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age" — her consent, even if given, does not take the act outside the definition of rape where she is under eighteen.
Exception 2 excludes sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, provided the wife is not under eighteen years of age.