Acid Attack Under the BNS (Section 124): IPC 326A Mapping (2026)
What an acid attack is under Section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which IPC sections it replaces, the punishment, and whether it is cognizable and bailable. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · BNS · Offences Against the Body
An acid attack is one of the most serious offences against the human body, and the law treats it that way. Since 1 July 2024, the section number that an advocate, investigating officer, or law student must cite has changed, because the Indian Penal Code has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). The acid attack offence is now Section 124 of the BNS. This explainer sets out what the section says, which old IPC sections it replaces, the punishment, and whether the offence is cognizable and bailable. Last verified October 2026.
- New code: acid attack is Section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (124(1) causing grievous hurt by acid, 124(2) throwing or attempting to throw acid).
- Old code: it replaces Sections 326A and 326B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
- Punishment: Section 124(1), not less than 10 years up to life plus fine to the victim; Section 124(2), 5 to 7 years plus fine.
- Classification: cognizable, non-bailable, triable by the Court of Session.
- Research and tracking: Claw searches judgments and tracks cases under this section across 9,102 forums.
01The problem: finding the right section
The acid attack offence has not changed in substance, but its address in the statute book has. For decades it sat in Sections 326A and 326B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. From 1 July 2024 the IPC was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the same offence now sits in Section 124 of the BNS.
This matters in practice. An FIR, a charge sheet, a bail application, or a judgment search now has to use the new number. A search for old case law still needs the old number, because judgments decided before the change were written under Sections 326A and 326B. Anyone working on an acid attack matter therefore has to hold both numbers in mind at once.
The acid attack offence did not change in substance when the codes changed. Its section number did: IPC 326A and 326B are now BNS Section 124.
02What Section 124 says
Section 124 of the BNS is titled voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, and it has two parts.
Section 124(1): causing grievous hurt by acid
This covers a person who causes permanent or partial damage, deformity, burns, maiming, disfigurement, disability, or grievous hurt to any part of the body by throwing acid on, or administering acid to, another person, or by using any other means with the intention or knowledge that such injury is likely. The word "acid" is defined widely, to include any substance that has an acidic, corrosive, or burning nature and is capable of causing bodily injury leading to scars or disfigurement.
Section 124(2): throwing or attempting to throw acid
This covers a person who throws acid, attempts to throw acid, or attempts to administer acid to another, with the intention of causing any of the injuries described above. The offence is complete even where no permanent injury results, because the harm aimed at is what the law punishes.
Two separate offences in one section
Section 124(1) punishes the act that actually causes the injury. Section 124(2) punishes the throwing or the attempt, even where the acid misses or causes no lasting damage. The two carry different punishments, so the charge should match what the evidence shows.
03The old-to-new mapping
The mapping from the old code to the new one is direct.
| New code (BNS, 2023) | Old code (IPC, 1860) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Section 124(1) | Section 326A | Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid |
| Section 124(2) | Section 326B | Voluntarily throwing or attempting to throw acid |
Sections 326A and 326B were themselves added to the IPC in 2013, after the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act that followed the Justice Verma Committee. The BNS has carried both into a single section with two subsections, keeping the wording and the punishment substantially the same. For the wider picture of how old sections map to new ones, see the IPC to BNS section mapping.
04Punishment and classification
The punishment under Section 124 is severe, and it is designed to put the cost of care on the offender.
- Section 124(1): imprisonment of either description for a term that shall not be less than ten years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine. The fine must be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses of the victim, and it is to be paid to the victim.
- Section 124(2): imprisonment of either description for a term that shall not be less than five years, which may extend to seven years, and with fine.
On classification, the acid attack offence under Section 124 is a cognizable offence, which means the police may register an FIR and investigate without first getting an order from a Magistrate. It is non-bailable, which means bail is not a matter of right and is decided by the court. It is triable by the Court of Session.
A minimum sentence
Section 124(1) carries a minimum of ten years. A court cannot go below that floor, which is why the exact charge, and the evidence of how the injury was caused, carries so much weight in these matters.
05What changed, and what did not
The honest answer is that very little changed in the law itself. The BNS kept the two offences, the wide definition of acid, the minimum ten year term, and the rule that the fine goes to the victim to meet medical costs. The main change is the renumbering, from Sections 326A and 326B of the IPC to Section 124 of the BNS, and the merger of the two into one section.
Because the substance is unchanged, case law decided under Sections 326A and 326B of the IPC continues to guide how Section 124 is read. That is useful for research, but it means a careful search has to cover both the old and the new section numbers to find all the relevant judgments. Related offences against the body sit nearby in the BNS, such as grievous hurt under Section 117 and hurt by dangerous weapons under Section 118.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Because the acid attack offence moved from IPC 326A and 326B to Section 124 in 2024, a full picture of the case law now sits under two different numbers, and Claw reads both at once. You can search more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, to find how the courts have handled sentencing, the victim-compensation fine and the wide meaning of acid, with court-ready citations in under five seconds. You can also follow a live Section 124 matter, order by order and hearing by hearing, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, searching by party or advocate name. To see how search works across the system, see case search across Indian courts.
Set up a free Claw account to start pulling these acid attack authorities and tracking your own matters by the name on record. Claw does not file a case or give legal advice, and it does not use customer case documents to train AI models.
07Sources and further reading
- India Code (official text of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
- Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
- BNS Section 124 (reference text): devgan.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers and punishments change through amendments and notifications, so check the current official text and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
What is the section for acid attack under the new criminal law?
Acid attack is Section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Section 124(1) covers voluntarily causing grievous hurt by acid, and Section 124(2) covers throwing or attempting to throw acid. It replaced Sections 326A and 326B of the Indian Penal Code from 1 July 2024.
Which IPC section does BNS Section 124 replace?
Section 124(1) of the BNS corresponds to Section 326A of the IPC, and Section 124(2) corresponds to Section 326B. Both IPC provisions were added in 2013 and have been carried into one BNS section with two subsections.
What is the punishment for an acid attack under Section 124 BNS?
Under Section 124(1), imprisonment of not less than ten years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and a fine that must be just and reasonable to meet the victim’s medical expenses, paid to the victim. Under Section 124(2), imprisonment of not less than five years, which may extend to seven years, and a fine.
Is an acid attack a bailable offence?
No. The offence under Section 124 is non-bailable, so bail is not a matter of right and is decided by the court. It is also a cognizable offence, so the police can register an FIR and investigate without a Magistrate’s order, and it is triable by the Court of Session.
Did the acid attack law change under the BNS?
The substance did not change much. The BNS kept the two offences, the wide definition of acid, the ten year minimum, and the fine payable to the victim. The main change is the new section number, from IPC 326A and 326B to BNS Section 124.
Can I find and track acid attack cases in Claw?
Yes. Claw lets you search judgments under both Section 124 of the BNS and the old IPC sections, and track live cases, orders, and hearings by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts and forums. It supports the research and tracking, but does not file the case or give legal advice.