Snatching: A New Offence Under the BNS

Snatching is a new, separate offence under Section 304 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). It is theft in which the offender suddenly, quickly or forcibly seizes, secures, grabs or takes away movable property from a person or from that person's possession, and it carries imprisonment of either description for up to three years along with liability to fine. The Indian Penal Code had no matching section, so this is one of the genuinely new offences students must learn.

This explainer is written for B.A. LL.B. and LL.B. students preparing criminal law papers, and for citizens who want to know what the law now calls a chain pulled from a neck or a phone grabbed from a hand. The BNS has applied since 1 July 2024, so any such incident after that date is examined under Section 304 and its neighbouring provisions.

What exactly does Section 304 say?

The section has two parts. Sub-section (1) defines the offence: theft is "snatching" if, in order to commit theft, the offender "suddenly or quickly or forcibly seizes or secures or grabs or takes away from any person or from his possession any moveable property." Sub-section (2) sets the punishment: imprisonment of either description "for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine." The section has no illustrations or explanations.

Read the definition slowly and you will see four building blocks:

1. There must first be theft. Section 304 opens with the words "Theft is snatching if", so every ingredient of theft under Section 303(1) must be present: dishonest intention, movable property, taking out of another person's possession, absence of consent, and moving the property in order to take it.
2. A manner of taking. The taking must be sudden, quick or forcible. The words are joined by "or", so any one of them is enough. A thief who quietly lifts a wallet from a bag over an hour is not snatching. A rider who swoops past and pulls a phone from a pedestrian's hand is.
3. An act of seizing. The offender seizes, secures, grabs or takes away the property.
4. A link with the person. The property is taken from a person or from that person's possession.

Why did Parliament create a separate offence?

Official correspondence tables published by the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Tripura Police both mark Section 304 as a new section with no IPC equivalent. Before July 2024, a snatching incident had to be fitted into an existing category, usually theft (old Sections 378 and 379 IPC) or, where hurt or fear of instant hurt could be shown, robbery (old Sections 390 and 392 IPC). Snatching sits uneasily between the two: it is quicker and more aggressive than ordinary theft, yet often involves no hurt or threat at all.

Section 304 fills that gap. Compare the punishments. For a first conviction of theft, Section 303(2) allows imprisonment up to three years, or fine, or both, so a court can impose fine alone. Section 304(2) says the snatcher "shall be punished with imprisonment", with fine in addition. The community service proviso (a first conviction, stolen property worth less than ₹5,000, and the property or its value returned) is written into Section 303(2) and is not repeated in Section 304.

When does snatching become robbery?

This is the boundary examiners test most often. Under Section 309(2), theft becomes robbery if, in order to commit it, while committing it, or while carrying away or attempting to carry away the property, the offender voluntarily causes or attempts to cause death, hurt or wrongful restraint, or fear of instant death, instant hurt or instant wrongful restraint.

Take two cases from the same street in Nagercoil:

• A man on a bike pulls a gold chain from a woman's neck and rides off. She is shocked but unhurt. This fits Section 304.
• The same man pulls the chain, the woman resists, and he pushes her to the ground so he can get away. He has caused hurt while carrying away the stolen property. The facts now point towards robbery under Section 309, which carries much heavier punishment.

So the rule of thumb is this: force applied to the property (a quick yank) points to snatching, while force or threat directed at the person to commit the theft or escape with the loot points to robbery. Each case still turns on its own facts.

How have the courts read Section 304 so far?

Because the section only came into force on 1 July 2024, the body of case law on it is still small. I could not confirm a leading Supreme Court or Madras High Court judgment that interprets the words of Section 304, so none is cited here. Students should check the Supreme Court and Madras High Court websites, and their syllabus casebook, for any ruling delivered after this article was written. Older judgments on chain snatching were decided under the IPC theft and robbery sections, and they remain useful only for the theft and robbery ingredients, not for the meaning of Section 304 itself.

What should a victim do?

If your phone or chain is snatched, note the time, place, the vehicle number if you saw it, and a description of the person. Report it at the nearest police station as soon as you can and ask for a copy of the FIR. Keep the purchase bill or IMEI number of a phone, since it helps trace the property. If you need help understanding the process, the college legal aid clinic can guide you.

How should you write this in an exam?

1. Open with the section number and the fact that it is a new offence with no IPC counterpart.
2. Quote or closely paraphrase Section 304(1) and break it into the four building blocks above.
3. Show that snatching is a species of theft by linking it back to the five ingredients in Section 303(1).
4. State the punishment under Section 304(2) and contrast it with Section 303(2): imprisonment is not optional.
5. Draw the line with robbery under Section 309(2), using one fact pattern for each side.
6. End with a short note that judicial interpretation is still developing.

Sources

• India Code: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: official record of Act 45 of 2023, enacted 25 December 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
• BNS Chapter XVII, Of Offences Against Property (devgan.in): section-wise text of Sections 303, 304 and 309.
• Uttar Pradesh Police, BNS and IPC comparative: marks Section 304 as a new section.
• Tripura Police, BNS and IPC comparison table: shows no IPC equivalent for Section 304.