BNS Section 120- Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
Hello readers! Today, we are going to break down Section 120 of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. If you've been wondering what exactly this section covers and how it impacts our legal system, you're in the right place.
Bare Act Text
Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property.—(1) Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security or to satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustrations.
A, a police officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
A, a police officer, tortures B to induce him to point out where certain stolen property is deposited. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
A, a revenue officer, tortures Z in order to compel him to pay certain arrears of revenue due from
Z. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(2) Whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for any purpose referred to in sub-section (1), shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Procedural Details
Punishment
Imprisonment up to Seven Year(s) + Fine
Nature of Offense
Cognizable
Bail Eligibility
Non-bailable
Compoundability
Non-Compoundable (Refer to BNSS 359 for exceptions)
Trial Court
Court of Session
Frequently Asked Questions about BNS Section 120
What is Section 120 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property.—(1) Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security or to satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustrations.
A, a police officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
A, a police officer, tortures B to induce him to point out where certain stolen property is deposited. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
A, a revenue officer, tortures Z in order to compel him to pay certain arrears of revenue due from
Z. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(2) Whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for any purpose referred to in sub-section (1), shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
What is the punishment under BNS Section120 ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the new law as: Imprisonment up to Seven Year(s) + Fine
Is BNS Section 120 bailable or non-bailable?
Under the new legal framework, this specific offense is classified as a Non-bailableoffense.
Is BNS Section 120 a cognizable offense?
The legal status regarding police arrest without a warrant is that this offense isCognizable.
Which court has the jurisdiction to try cases under BNS Section 120 ?
Cases pertaining to this specific BNS section are triable by the Court of Session.
Can BNS Section 120 be compromised (Compoundable)?
The compoundable nature of this offense, meaning whether the parties can settle it out of court, is classified as: Non-Compoundable (Refer to BNSS 359 for exceptions).
Pramod Editor-in-Chief
Pramod is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of StudyHub. He holds a Master's degree and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Geology, alongside more than 7+ years spent building and verifying competitive exam content for Indian aspirants. He leads StudyHub's editorial process across Indian Polity, the Constitution, Indian Economy, History, Geography, Science, and the platform's other subject areas — checking every article against primary sources (bare act text and Gazette notifications for constitutional topics, government and Economic Survey data for economy content, standard reference material elsewhere) and flagging it for re-verification whenever a relevant amendment, policy, or data update makes an earlier version outdated.