Hurt and Grievous Hurt Under the BNS

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), "hurt" is defined in Section 114 as causing bodily pain, disease or infirmity to any person, and Section 116 lists the only kinds of hurt that count as "grievous". The punishing sections follow from Section 115 onwards, rising with the seriousness of the injury, the means used and the purpose behind it. The biggest change from the old Indian Penal Code is that the pain or incapacity limb of grievous hurt now needs fifteen days, not twenty.

This explainer is for B.A. LL.B. and LL.B. students preparing for criminal law papers, and for citizens who want to understand what a complaint of assault or injury actually involves. The BNS replaced the IPC on 1 July 2024, so any FIR, charge sheet or exam answer about an injury now starts with these sections. Old IPC numbers appear below only as pointers.

What counts as hurt under Section 114?

Section 114 is short: whoever causes bodily pain, disease or infirmity to any person is said to cause hurt. Three things follow from that wording.

• No visible injury is needed. Bodily pain is enough. A slap that leaves no mark can still be hurt.
• Disease and infirmity are separate heads. Infecting someone with an illness, or leaving them weak or unable to use a part of the body for a time, is covered.
• Mental distress alone is not "bodily pain". The definition speaks of the body, so insults and fear are dealt with under other provisions.

The old pointer is Section 319 of the IPC.

When is hurt "voluntarily" caused (Section 115)?

Section 115(1) says a person voluntarily causes hurt when the act is done with the intention of causing hurt, or with knowledge that it is likely to cause hurt, and it does cause hurt. Section 115(2) fixes the punishment: imprisonment of either description up to one year, or fine up to ten thousand rupees, or both, except where the provocation provision in Section 122(1) applies.

Compare the old Section 323 IPC, which allowed a fine of only up to one thousand rupees. The jail term is the same; the fine ceiling has gone up tenfold.

Which injuries are grievous hurt under Section 116?

Section 116 is an exhaustive list. If an injury does not fit one of these eight heads, it is simple hurt, however serious it looks in a photograph.

1. Emasculation.
2. Permanent loss of sight of either eye.
3. Permanent loss of hearing of either ear.
4. Loss of any member or joint.
5. Destruction or permanent impairment of the function of any member or joint.
6. Permanent disfigurement of the head or face.
7. Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth.
8. Any hurt that endangers life, or that causes the sufferer to be in severe bodily pain, or unable to follow ordinary pursuits, for fifteen days.

The eighth head is where the change lies. Section 320 IPC used twenty days. Take a student in Nagercoil whose shoulder is badly bruised in a fight and who cannot attend classes or work for seventeen days. Under the IPC that was simple hurt. Under the BNS, if the medical evidence supports seventeen days of severe pain or inability, it can be grievous hurt. The doctor's wound certificate and treatment record therefore matter a great deal.

How are hurt offences graded and punished?

Read Sections 117 to 124 as a ladder. Each step adds something: a graver injury, a dangerous means, or a wrongful purpose.

• Section 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt): up to seven years and fine under sub-section (2). Sub-section (3) is new in structure: where the act causes permanent disability or a persistent vegetative state, rigorous imprisonment of not less than ten years, which may extend to imprisonment for the remainder of natural life. Sub-section (4) covers a group of five or more acting in concert who cause grievous hurt on grounds such as race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language or personal belief: each member is liable to up to seven years and fine. The Explanation says the offence is made out even if the kind of grievous hurt caused differs from the kind intended. Old pointers: Sections 322 and 325 IPC.
• Section 118 (dangerous weapons or means): hurt by a shooting, stabbing or cutting instrument, fire, poison, a corrosive substance, an explosive, an animal and similar means carries up to three years, or fine up to twenty thousand rupees, or both. Grievous hurt by such means carries life imprisonment, or one to ten years, and fine. Old pointer: Section 324 IPC and the related grievous hurt provision.
• Section 119 (to extort property or constrain an illegal act): hurt, up to ten years and fine; grievous hurt, life or up to ten years and fine.
• Section 120 (to extort a confession or compel restoration of property): hurt, up to seven years and fine; grievous hurt, up to ten years and fine. The illustrations name a police officer torturing a person to obtain a confession or to find stolen property, which is why this section is read with custodial violence.
• Section 121 (to deter a public servant): hurt, up to five years, or fine, or both; grievous hurt, one to ten years and fine.
• Section 122 (grave and sudden provocation): the mitigating provision. Hurt on provocation, up to one month, or fine up to five thousand rupees, or both; grievous hurt, up to five years, or fine up to ten thousand rupees, or both. It is subject to the same proviso as Exception 1 to Section 101 (the murder exception). Old pointer: Section 334 IPC.
• Section 123 (hurt by poison or a stupefying drug with intent to commit an offence): up to ten years and fine.
• Section 124 (acid attack): causing permanent or partial damage, deformity, burns, maiming, disfigurement or disability to any part of the body, or grievous hurt, or a permanent vegetative state, by throwing or administering acid or any other means, with intention or knowledge: not less than ten years, which may extend to life, and fine. The fine must be just and reasonable to meet medical expenses and is paid to the victim. Attempt under sub-section (2): five to seven years and fine. The Explanations define acid widely and say the damage need not be irreversible.

What should a person who has been injured do?

Suppose a tenant in Madurai is beaten by a landlord's men over rent and suffers a broken finger. A fracture falls within Section 116, so this is a grievous hurt case, not a "petty quarrel".

1. Get medical treatment first and ask the hospital to record the injuries in an accident or wound register.
2. Keep every prescription, X-ray and discharge summary. These prove the fracture, or the fifteen days of pain or incapacity.
3. Give a complaint at the police station with jurisdiction and ask for a copy of the FIR.
4. If money is a barrier to getting legal advice, approach a legal services authority or the college legal aid clinic for guidance.

Procedure, including arrest, bail and which court tries each offence, is governed by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Check its First Schedule for the current classification of each section before relying on it.

How should you write about hurt in an exam?

1. Define: quote Section 114 and Section 115(1) in your own words, with Sections 319 and 321 IPC in brackets.
2. Classify the injury: test the facts against each head of Section 116. Say clearly whether it is simple or grievous, and why.
3. Find the aggravating factor: weapon (Section 118), purpose (Sections 119 to 121), poison (Section 123), acid (Section 124), or permanent disability (Section 117(3)).
4. Check mitigation: was there grave and sudden provocation under Section 122?
5. Point out the changes: fifteen days instead of twenty, higher fines, and the new group and permanent disability provisions in Section 117.
6. Conclude with the section and the punishment range.

Examiners also expect case law. Take your leading decisions on bodily pain, dangerous weapons and acid attacks from your prescribed casebook or the Supreme Court's own judgment portal, and cite the exact name and year as reported there.

Sources

• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 114: bare text of the definition of hurt.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 115: voluntarily causing hurt and its punishment.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 116: the eight heads of grievous hurt.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 117: voluntarily causing grievous hurt and its punishments.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 118: hurt and grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 119: hurt to extort property or constrain an illegal act.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 122: hurt on grave and sudden provocation.
• AdvocateKhoj: BNS Section 124: acid attack and attempted acid attack.
• AdvocateKhoj: IPC Section 320: the old definition of grievous hurt with the twenty day period.