BNS Section 121: Voluntarily Causing Hurt or Grievous Hurt to Deter a Public Servant From Duty (IPC 332 and 333 Mapping) (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 121 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code in force since 1 July 2024, punishes causing hurt or grievous hurt to a public servant to deter them from, or to punish them for, doing their duty. It replaced Sections 332 and 333 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Causing hurt carries up to five years, or fine, or both; grievous hurt carries one to ten years and a fine. If you still look up "section 332 IPC" or "section 333 IPC", this is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 121 covers, how it maps to the old law, and the punishment. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number matters now

Attacking a police officer, a revenue official or any public servant doing their job was punished under Sections 332 and 333 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Since 1 July 2024 the IPC is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and both provisions are now combined in Section 121.

This matters in practice. An FIR for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2024 is registered under the BNS, so it cites Section 121, not Section 332 or 333. An older case keeps its IPC numbers, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. So for a while you will see both sets of numbers in live matters.

02What Section 121 covers

Section 121 of the BNS punishes voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to a public servant in three situations: while the public servant is discharging their duty, to prevent or deter them from discharging their duty, or in consequence of (as retaliation for) something they did or tried to do in the lawful discharge of that duty.

The section has two parts:

• Section 121(1): causing hurt to the public servant.
• Section 121(2): causing grievous hurt to the public servant, which is treated more seriously.

03Key ingredients

To bring a case under Section 121, the prosecution must show:

• that the victim was a public servant;
• that the accused voluntarily caused hurt or grievous hurt;
• that it was done while the public servant discharged duty, to deter them from it, or as retaliation for its lawful discharge; and
• the degree of injury, which decides whether sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) applies.

The duty being discharged must be lawful. If the officer was acting outside lawful authority, the connection the section needs may not be made out.

04Old to new: IPC 332 and 333 to BNS 121

Sections 332 and 333 of the IPC are now combined in Section 121 of the BNS. Section 332 (hurt to deter public servant) maps to Section 121(1), and Section 333 (grievous hurt to deter public servant) maps to Section 121(2).

Note one common error. Some lists pair "Section 121" with the old Section 327 (hurt to extort property or to constrain to an illegal act). That is wrong. Hurt to extort property sits in Section 119 of the BNS. Section 121 is about hurt to a public servant.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 121 is:

• Section 121(1), hurt: imprisonment of either description for up to five years, or a fine, or both.
• Section 121(2), grievous hurt: imprisonment of either description for not less than one year, which may extend to ten years, and a fine.

On classification, the offence is cognizable and non-bailable, so the police can register an FIR and investigate without prior approval of a court, and bail is decided by the court rather than being a matter of right. For the exact trial court and any sub-section difference, check the First Schedule of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

06What changed from the old law

The main change is structural. Two separate IPC sections (332 and 333) are now one section with two sub-sections. The substance, hurt or grievous hurt to a public servant connected to their duty, is carried over, so case law under the old sections still guides how Section 121 is read.

Do not confuse Section 121 with the neighbouring hurt offences: hurt to extort a confession or property is Section 120, hurt on provocation is Section 122, and hurt by poison is Section 123. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

07Where 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.

Cases of assault on public servants come up constantly, from enforcement drives to arrests, and they are contested through trial and appeal. Claw lets you see how courts have read this charge under the new Section 121 and the old Sections 332 and 333, searching more than 30 crore judgments by party or advocate with answers in under 5 seconds, and reaching back through High Court decisions to 1990 and Supreme Court decisions to 1950. When a matter is live, Claw follows its cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.

Documents you bring into Claw are never used to train its AI models, so your file on an assault-on-officer matter stays private. Open a free Claw account to look up and follow these cases by party or advocate name. For the fuller law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS overview and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• Section 121, BNS (bare text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions