BNS Section 136: Assault or Criminal Force on Grave Provocation (IPC 358 Mapping) (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 136 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) deals with assault or criminal force used on a person on grave and sudden provocation given by that same person. Because the provocation reduces the blame, the punishment is light. The BNS has been in force since 1 July 2024. Section 136 replaced Section 358 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The punishment is simple imprisonment up to one month, or a fine up to one thousand rupees, or both. If you still look up "section 358 IPC", this is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 136 covers, the role of provocation, how it maps to the old law, and the classification. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number changed

For generations, assault or criminal force on grave provocation sat in Section 358 of the Indian Penal Code. Since 1 July 2024 the IPC is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and this offence now sits in Section 136 of the BNS.

This matters in daily practice. A complaint for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2024 cites Section 136, not Section 358. An older matter keeps its IPC number, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. For some years both numbers will appear in live cases.

02What Section 136 covers

Section 136 punishes a person who assaults or uses criminal force on another person on grave and sudden provocation given by that other person. The idea is that where the victim himself provoked the accused gravely and suddenly, the law treats the retaliation as a much lesser wrong, and the punishment is correspondingly light.

It is the mirror image of an ordinary assault. An ordinary assault, without provocation, is punished more heavily under the general assault provision. Section 136 is the reduced offence for the provoked case.

03The role of grave and sudden provocation

To bring a case within Section 136, these points must be present:

• The accused assaulted or used criminal force on the victim.
• The provocation came from the victim.
• The provocation was both grave and sudden.

Whether a provocation is grave and sudden is a question of fact, and the same cautions apply as in the general law on provocation. The provocation must not have been sought or voluntarily provoked by the accused as an excuse, and it must not have been given by anything done in obedience to the law or in the lawful exercise of a right.

The section is read subject to the same explanation that governs the related criminal force provisions, so the exceptions on self-provoked or lawful conduct carry across.

04Old to new: IPC 358 to BNS 136

Section 358 of the IPC is now Section 136 of the BNS. The offence is carried over, with the fine raised.

Case law under Section 358 still guides how Section 136 is read, since the structure of the offence is unchanged.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 136 is simple imprisonment for a term that may extend to one month, or a fine that may extend to one thousand rupees, or both. It is one of the lighter offences in the code, which reflects the reduced blame where the victim gave grave and sudden provocation.

On classification, the offence under Section 136 is treated as:

• Non-cognizable: the police generally cannot register an FIR and investigate without the order of a Magistrate.
• Bailable: bail is a matter of right.
• Triable by any Magistrate.

06A note on the common search for this number

The BNS renumbered the criminal law heavily, so you cannot assume a new section carries the old subject that sat at the same position in the IPC. Section 136 is a clear example. It is a provoked-assault offence, not wrongful restraint.

Wrongful restraint is a separate section of the BNS. Always read the bare text of the section before you draft a complaint or an application.

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.

A Section 136 case usually turns on one question: was the provocation truly grave and sudden? That is settled fact by fact, so it helps to see how courts have decided it under the old Section 358 and now under Section 136. Claw draws on more than 30 crore judgments and lets you follow the cases, orders and hearings on this section by party or advocate name, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, returning results in under five seconds. The definition of assault, which this offence builds on, is set out in Section 130 of the BNS.

Your filings stay confidential, as Claw does not use customer documents to train its AI models. Open a free Claw account and search provoked-assault matters by the party or the advocate on record. To search the wider body of 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 136, 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.

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