Section 79 closes this sub-topic of Chapter V and punishes whoever, intending to insult a woman's modesty, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object in any form, intending that it be heard or seen by her, or intrudes upon her privacy. The punishment is simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and fine.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 79 to old IPC Section 509, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Unlike the several immediately preceding sections in this Chapter, old IPC Section 509 predates the later amendment package and is present in this project's local IPC source text intact, under its own number, allowing a full direct comparison.
| BNS 79 | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 79 | 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) | Substantively changed |
Comparing the two texts directly: the operative conduct described is essentially identical, with one small textual addition — BNS 79 adds the words "in any form" after "exhibits any object," making explicit that the object exhibited may take any form, a clarification not present in the old wording. The punishment, however, differs substantially: old IPC Section 509 provided simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or fine, or both — an entirely optional structure with a one-year maximum. BNS Section 79 instead provides simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and fine — tripling the maximum custodial term and making fine mandatory in addition to imprisonment, rather than an alternative to it.
Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any words, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object in any form, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and also with fine.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 79 is a broad, catch-all provision covering several distinct means by which a woman's modesty may be insulted: uttering words, making a sound or gesture, exhibiting an object in any form, or intruding upon her privacy. Unlike Section 74, which requires an assault or use of criminal force, none of the acts covered by Section 79 need involve any physical contact at all — the offence can be committed entirely through words, sounds, gestures, or the mere act of intruding upon privacy. The section requires a specific intention throughout: the accused must intend to insult the woman's modesty, and, for the word, sound, gesture, or object limb, must intend that it be heard or seen by her specifically. This is the least physically intrusive, but still criminalised, end of the spectrum of offences in this sub-topic of Chapter V, which runs from Section 74's assault-based offences through to this section's purely verbal, gestural, or privacy-intruding conduct.
These judgment(s) relate to Section 79 as a whole rather than to one specific sub-section, and so are presented together here rather than alongside a particular clause above.
Court holds that words and gestures intended to insult the modesty of a woman attract IPC s.509 (BNS 79) alongside s.354; also discusses 'modesty' test at p. 8.
No. The offence can be committed entirely through words, sounds, gestures, exhibiting an object, or intruding upon the woman's privacy, without any physical contact at all.
An intention to insult the woman's modesty, and, for the word, sound, gesture, or object limb, an intention that it be heard or seen by her specifically.
Yes. The bare text requires both simple imprisonment, for a term which may extend to three years, and fine — unlike the old IPC provision, which allowed a court to impose only a fine with no imprisonment at all.