Section 68 punishes a person who, being in a position of authority or a fiduciary relationship, a public servant, superintendent or manager of a jail, remand home, or similar institution, or on the management or staff of a hospital, abuses that position or relationship to induce or seduce a woman in his custody, under his charge, or present in the premises, into sexual intercourse that does not amount to rape. The punishment is rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term of not less than five years but which may extend to ten years, and fine.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 68 to old IPC Section 376C, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Note on numbering: this project's local IPC source text (as previously flagged at Sections 63 through 66) carries a different, narrower provision under the number 376C ("Intercourse by superintendent of jail, remand home, etc."), consistent with the same pre-amendment numbering already identified. Unlike Sections 63 through 66, however, the substance that BNS 68 actually draws on is fully present in our local text, simply spread across three separate old provisions (376B, 376C, and 376D by local numbering) rather than missing entirely. Section 68 is marked Merged, with substantive changes beyond the merge:
| BNS 68 | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent (local numbering) | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68(b) | Public servant | S.376B (Intercourse by public servant with woman in his custody) | Merged |
| 68(c) | Jail/remand home/institution superintendent or manager | S.376C (Intercourse by superintendent of jail, remand home, etc.) | Merged |
| 68(d) | Hospital management or staff | S.376D (Intercourse by any member of the management or staff of a hospital with any woman in that hospital) | Merged |
| 68(a) | Position of authority or fiduciary relationship (general) | No equivalent in any of the three local provisions | No predecessor |
Comparing the bare text directly, BNS Section 68 merges three separate old IPC offences (public servant, jail/institution superintendent, and hospital staff) into a single section with a shared chapeau and a common punishment. Beyond the merge itself, three precise textual deltas: first, clause (a) ("in a position of authority or in a fiduciary relationship") has no counterpart at all in any of the three local provisions — it is a genuine, general addition broadening the section beyond the three specific offices. Second, the punishment is enhanced: each of the three local provisions provided only ordinary imprisonment up to a maximum of five years (no stated minimum), whereas BNS 68 requires rigorous imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of five years, extendable to ten. Third, the local provision for hospital staff (376D) required only that the accused "takes advantage of his position and has sexual intercourse," without any express inducement or seduction language, whereas BNS 68 requires that the position or relationship be abused "to induce or seduce" the woman across all four categories uniformly — a wording change that, for the hospital-staff category specifically, adds an inducement/seduction element not expressly stated in the corresponding local provision.
Whoever, being—
(a) in a position of authority or in a fiduciary relationship; or
(b) a public servant; or
(c) superintendent or manager of a jail, remand home or other place of custody established by or under any law for the time being in force, or a women's or children's institution; or
(d) on the management of a hospital or being on the staff of a hospital,
abuses such position or fiduciary relationship to induce or seduce any woman either in his custody or under his charge or present in the premises to have sexual intercourse with him, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation 1.—In this section, “sexual intercourse” shall mean any of the acts mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) of section 63.
Explanation 2.—For the purposes of this section, Explanation 1 to section 63 shall also be applicable.
Explanation 3.—“Superintendent”, in relation to a jail, remand home or other place of custody or a women's or children's institution, includes a person holding any other office in such jail, remand home, place or institution by virtue of which such person can exercise any authority or control over its inmates.
Explanation 4.—The expressions “hospital” and “women's or children's institution” shall respectively have the same meanings as in clauses (b) and (d) of the Explanation to sub-section (2) of section 64.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
One point applies to all four categories before turning to each individually: none of clauses (a) through (d) alone is an offence. The person described must additionally abuse that specific position or relationship to induce or seduce the woman into sexual intercourse, and that intercourse must not itself amount to rape (which would instead fall under Sections 63 and 64). The section's four Explanations give precise meaning to "sexual intercourse," "Superintendent," "hospital," and "women's or children's institution" so each of the four categories can be applied with certainty.
This clause is the broadest of the four, and has no equivalent in the older, narrower provisions this section otherwise consolidates. It reaches any general position of authority or fiduciary relationship — not limited to the three specific institutional roles named in clauses (b) through (d) — where that position or relationship is abused to induce or seduce a woman under the person's charge into sexual intercourse.
This clause targets a public servant who abuses that official standing to induce or seduce a woman in his own custody, or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to him, into sexual intercourse. Custodial control, rather than any personal relationship, is what creates the opportunity for abuse here.
This clause targets those who run or manage a jail, remand home, other place of lawful custody, or a women's or children's institution, where they abuse that role to induce or seduce an inmate of the same jail, remand home, place, or institution. Explanation 3 makes clear that "Superintendent" is not limited to a person holding that exact job title, but includes anyone holding any office within the institution by virtue of which they can exercise authority or control over its inmates.
This clause targets a person on the management of, or on the staff of, a hospital, who abuses that position to induce or seduce a woman present in the hospital's premises into sexual intercourse. Explanation 4 ties "hospital" to the same meaning used elsewhere in the Sanhita's sexual-offence provisions, so the term applies consistently across sections.
The section requires that the position or relationship be abused "to induce or seduce" the woman, which addresses situations where the apparent consent was obtained through abuse of authority, trust, or custodial control rather than being a genuinely free choice.
Section 68 expressly applies only where the sexual intercourse does not amount to rape; where it does amount to rape, Sections 63 and 64 apply instead, generally carrying a more severe punishment.
Potentially, under clause (a), if they are in a position of authority or a fiduciary relationship towards the woman and abuse that position to induce or seduce her — clause (a) is not limited to the specific institutional roles named in clauses (b) through (d).