Section 85 falls within the sub-topic "Of offences relating to marriage" in Chapter V and punishes whoever, being the husband or a relative of the husband of a woman, subjects her to cruelty. The punishment is imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and fine. The meaning of "cruelty" itself is defined separately, in Section 86.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 85 to old IPC Section 498A's operative offence, and Section 86 to that same old section's own Explanation defining "cruelty," and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Section 85 is marked Split: old IPC 498A's single section (offence text plus its own Explanation) is divided between BNS Sections 85 and 86.
| BNS section | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | The offence and punishment | 498A (operative text) | Split |
| 86 | Definition of "cruelty" | 498A (Explanation) | Split |
Beyond the split itself, comparing the operative text directly, Section 85 reproduces old IPC 498A's offence-creating language without any substantive change: "being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty," with the same punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and fine.
Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 85 requires two elements: the accused must be the husband, or a relative of the husband, of the woman in question, and the accused must subject her to cruelty. The section itself does not define "cruelty" — that definition is set out separately in Section 86, which this section relies on entirely for its operative meaning. Because the offence can be committed by "the relative of the husband," liability under this section is not limited to the husband personally; it extends to in-laws and other relatives of the husband, provided their conduct meets the definition of cruelty in Section 86.
These judgment(s) relate to Section 85 as a whole rather than to one specific sub-section, and so are presented together here rather than alongside a particular clause above.
Court quotes BNS ss.85 and 86 (para 38) and notes they replicate IPC 498A, asking the Legislature to revisit them (paras 39-40); para 32 also notes trivial matrimonial disputes are not cruelty.
Yes. The section expressly extends to "the relative of the husband," not only the husband himself, provided the relative's conduct meets the definition of cruelty in Section 86.
No. The definition is set out separately in Section 86, and Section 85 relies on that definition entirely for its operative meaning.
The BNSS First Schedule makes it cognizable only where information is given to an officer in charge of a police station by the aggrieved woman herself, a relative of hers by blood, marriage, or adoption, or, absent such a relative, a public servant of a class notified by the State Government for this purpose.