Section 71 targets repeat sexual offenders: whoever has previously been convicted of an offence punishable under Section 64 (rape), Section 65 (rape in certain cases), Section 66 (causing death or a persistent vegetative state), or Section 70 (gang rape), and is subsequently convicted again of an offence punishable under any of these same sections, is punished with imprisonment for the remainder of natural life, or with death.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 71 to old IPC Section 376E, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts.
Sourcing gap, disclosed openly (same recurring gap already flagged at Sections 63 through 66 and 70): old IPC Section 376E was itself an amended-era addition, inserted well after the Code's original 1860 enactment as part of the same broader package of amendments already noted at the earlier flagged sections. This project's local IPC source text predates that amendment, and a direct search of the full local text confirms it contains no provision numbered 376E at all — the repeat-offender provision is entirely absent from local sources, not merely present in a superseded form. Section 71 is accordingly marked Substantively changed, on the basis of the concordance's own confirmed historical lineage, with this specific sourcing limitation disclosed rather than a false comparison being forced.
| BNS 71 | IPC, 1860 equivalent (concordance) | Found in local text? | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 376E (Punishment for repeat offenders) | No — absent from local text under any number | Substantively changed |
This source limitation is disclosed here, rather than a word-by-word comparison being forced.
Whoever has been previously convicted of an offence punishable under section 64 or section 65 or section 66 or section 70 and is subsequently convicted of an offence punishable under any of the said sections shall be punished with imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 71 creates an enhanced, mandatory punishment for a defined category of repeat offenders. It applies only where two specific conditions are both met: first, the accused has been previously convicted of an offence punishable under Section 64, Section 65, Section 66, or Section 70; and second, the accused is subsequently convicted again of an offence punishable under any one of those same four sections (the second conviction need not be under the same specific section as the first — a prior conviction under Section 64 followed by a later conviction under Section 70 still satisfies this section). Where both conditions are met, the only two sentences the section itself makes available are imprisonment for the remainder of natural life, or death — there is no lesser term stated in the bare text. The section does not itself apply to a first conviction, however serious; it is triggered specifically by repetition of an offence drawn from this defined set of grave sexual offences.
No. The section applies where the prior conviction was under any one of Section 64, 65, 66, or 70, and the subsequent conviction is under any one of those same four sections — the two need not match.
No. The section is triggered only where the accused has already been previously convicted of one of the named offences and is then convicted again of one of them.
The bare text states only two possible sentences: imprisonment for the remainder of natural life, or death.