Imputations Prejudicial to National Integration Under the BNS (Section 197): IPC 153B Mapping (2026)

Explainer · New Criminal Laws · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 punishes imputations and assertions that are prejudicial to national integration. It carries forward the old offence and adds a new limb: publishing false or misleading information that jeopardises the sovereignty, unity, integrity or security of India. The base punishment is up to three years, a fine, or both. This section replaced Section 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and has applied since 1 July 2024. This explainer sets out what Section 197 covers, the new false-information limb, the punishment, and what changed from the old law. Last verified October 2026.

01The short answer

Section 197 of the BNS punishes words, signs, or visible or electronic communication that make certain imputations or assertions prejudicial to national integration. The offence has several limbs, and one of them is new.

In plain terms, the section covers:

• claiming that a group, defined by religion, race, language, region, caste or community, cannot bear true faith to the Constitution or uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India;
• asserting that such a group should be denied the rights of citizens;
• making appeals about the obligations of such a group that are likely to cause disharmony, enmity, hatred or ill will; and
• publishing false or misleading information that jeopardises the sovereignty, unity, integrity or security of India. This limb is new.

It replaced IPC Section 153B.

Section 197 of the BNS carries forward the national integration offence and adds a new limb for false or misleading information that endangers the sovereignty, unity, integrity or security of India.

02What the section covers

The section is about speech and publication, read widely to include spoken words, writing, signs, visible representations and electronic communication.

The carried-forward limbs

The first three limbs come from the old law. They target imputations against a group over its loyalty to the Constitution, assertions that a group should lose the rights of citizenship, and appeals likely to cause disharmony between groups.

The new false-information limb

The fourth limb is the significant addition. It covers making or publishing false or misleading information that jeopardises the sovereignty, unity and integrity or security of India. This widens the offence beyond the traditional focus on group identity, and expressly brings electronic communication within reach.

03Punishment and classification

The punishment depends on where the offence is committed.

Practitioner guides describe both sub-sections as cognizable and non-bailable.

04IPC 153B to BNS 197: what changed

Section 197 of the BNS is the successor to Section 153B of the IPC. Most of the offence is carried over, but there are two real changes.

• Electronic communication is named. The section expressly covers electronic communication, which closes an old gap.
• A new false-information limb. Publishing false or misleading information that jeopardises the sovereignty, unity, integrity or security of India is now an offence under this section.
• Same two-tier sentence structure: a base penalty, and a higher penalty where the act is committed in a place of worship or at a religious ceremony.

For the full map of old numbers to new, see our IPC to BNS section converter.

05Related offences

Section 197 should be read alongside the other speech and State offences in the BNS:

• Promoting enmity between groups under Section 196, the companion hate-speech provision.
• The provision that replaced sedition, Section 152, which targets acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity.

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.

Reading how courts have treated the national-integration limbs, and the new limb on false or misleading information, means first gathering the right judgments and then keeping an eye on live matters. Claw does both. You can search more than 30 crore judgments, reaching Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, with each search returning in under five seconds, and track cases, orders and hearings under this section by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. Open a free Claw account to study how Section 197 and the old Section 153B have been applied and to follow a current matter. You can also see how case search works across Indian courts. Claw does not use customer case documents to train its AI models.

07Sources and further reading

• India Code (official bare Acts): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Text of BNS Section 197: devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Statute text can change through amendment and notification, so check the current section and take advice from counsel before acting.

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