BNS Section 357: Breach of contract to attend to and supply the wants of a helpless person (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 357 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) punishes a person who breaks a contract to care for a helpless person and leaves that person without the help they were promised. It replaced Section 491 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) when the new code came into force on 1 July 2024. This explainer sets out what the section covers, how it maps to the old law, the punishment, and the classification. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem this section targets

Some people cannot look after themselves. A young child, a person of unsound mind, or a person weakened by disease may depend fully on someone else for food, care and daily needs. When a person takes on a contract to provide that care and then simply abandons the duty, the helpless person is left exposed.

Section 357 of the BNS is a narrow but important offence that answers this. It makes a deliberate breach of such a contract a criminal matter, not just a civil one.

02What Section 357 covers

Section 357 of the BNS punishes a person who is legally bound by a contract to attend on, or to supply the wants of, a person who is helpless because of youth, unsoundness of mind, disease, or bodily weakness, and who voluntarily omits to do so.

The duty must come from a contract. The person protected must be helpless in one of the listed ways. And the failure must be voluntary, that is, a deliberate omission rather than an accident or an impossibility.

03Key ingredients

To make out an offence under Section 357, these points must be shown:

• the accused was legally bound by a contract to attend on or supply the wants of another person;
• that other person was helpless because of youth, unsoundness of mind, disease, or bodily weakness; and
• the accused voluntarily omitted to do what the contract required.

The word "voluntarily" is central. A person who could not perform the contract for reasons beyond their control is in a different position from a person who simply chose to walk away.

04Old to new: IPC 491 to BNS 357

Section 357 of the BNS carries forward Section 491 of the IPC. The text is the same, and the fine is now stated as a rupee figure.

So the conduct is the same as the old Section 491. The BNS states a clear maximum fine of five thousand rupees, and keeps the three-month maximum sentence.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 357 is imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or both.

On classification, the offence is:

• Non-cognizable: the police generally need a Magistrate order to investigate.
• Bailable: bail is a matter of right, subject to conditions.
• Triable by any Magistrate.

06What this means in practice

In practice, Section 357 can apply to a hired carer, a nurse, or anyone who contracts to look after a helpless person and then deserts the duty. It sits alongside civil remedies for breach of contract and, where relevant, laws on maintenance and on the care of senior citizens.

Because the text follows Section 491 of the IPC, older judgments on Section 491 still guide how Section 357 is read. When you research, search both numbers. For another example of how the BNS simply renumbered and tidied an old offence, see mischief by killing or maiming an animal.

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.

Matters under this provision hinge on the terms of the care contract and on who counts as "helpless", which keeps the facts of earlier rulings important. Claw draws on more than 30 crore judgments and orders and lets you follow every hearing, order and listing under Section 491 or the new Section 357, or by party or advocate name, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with each search completed in under five seconds. Its records span the Supreme Court from 1950 and the High Courts from 1990.

Claw will not use the files you upload to train its AI models. Open a free Claw account to search and monitor these care-contract matters by party or advocate name. For a wider look across the law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• Section 357, BNS (bare text and classification): devgan.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• 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