Unlawful Compulsory Labour (Bonded Labour) Under the BNS (Section 146): IPC 374 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · New Criminal Code · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Forcing a person to work against their will, the conduct behind bonded and forced labour, is a criminal offence in India, and it echoes a constitutional ban. The new code keeps this offence, renumbered. If a charge sheet mentions Section 146 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, this is the provision in play. This explainer sets out what Section 146 covers, the punishment, how it maps to the old IPC Section 374, and how it sits beside the special bonded labour law. Last verified October 2026.

01Section 146 in one answer

Section 146 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) punishes a person who unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will of that person. The BNS came into force on 1 July 2024 and replaced the Indian Penal Code.

The punishment is imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine, or both. This is the successor to IPC Section 374, the provision commonly linked with bonded and forced labour.

Section 146 punishes unlawfully compelling a person to labour against their will. It carries imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine, or both.

02What the offence covers

The offence is short and broad. Two things have to be shown:

• the accused compelled a person to labour; and
• the compulsion was unlawful and against the will of that person.

The key word is unlawfully. A lawful requirement to work, for example a sentence of imprisonment with hard labour imposed by a court, is not within this section. The offence targets compulsion that has no legal basis, where a person is made to work through force, threat, or the hold of a debt.

03Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 146 is imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine, or both.

This is a relatively short maximum for the criminal code. The offence is cognizable and bailable, and it is triable by any Magistrate.

In practice, the modest sentence under the general criminal code is one reason that the special bonded labour law, discussed below, is often used alongside or instead of this section.

04How it maps to IPC 374

Section 146 replaced IPC Section 374. The offence and the one-year punishment carried over unchanged.

So the substance is the same. The elements, unlawful compulsion and labour against the will, and the sentence, all match the old IPC 374. The main change is the renumbering and the move from the IPC to the BNS. For the full table, see our IPC to BNS section mapping, and for the wider reform see the new criminal laws of 2024.

05The constitutional and special-law backdrop

Section 146 does not stand alone. It gives criminal effect to a constitutional promise and runs alongside a dedicated statute.

• Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits forced labour and traffic in human beings. Section 146 is the general criminal offence that backs that prohibition.
• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 is the special law that abolishes the bonded labour system, provides for the release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers, and sets its own penalties.

Where the facts involve debt bondage, the special law usually drives the case, because it is built for that purpose and carries its own machinery. Section 146 covers unlawful compulsion to labour more generally. Related trafficking conduct is dealt with under human trafficking under Section 143.

06Practical points

• Unlawful is the operative word. A court-ordered sentence of hard labour, or lawful work, is not covered. The compulsion must lack legal basis.
• Consider the special law. For debt bondage, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 is usually the stronger route and may be charged alongside.
• Date of the offence decides the code. The BNS applies to offences on or after 1 July 2024. Earlier cases stay under IPC 374.
• It is bailable. A person arrested under Section 146 alone has a right to bail.

For teams handling employment and labour disputes, see our guide to labour and employment litigation software in India and how Claw supports case search across labour courts and industrial tribunals.

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.

Because a Section 146 charge so often travels with the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and trafficking counts, the real work is tracing how courts have read unlawful compulsion and then keeping up with a matter that moves between forums. Claw carries more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, so orders under Section 146 and the old IPC 374 surface with court-ready citations in under five seconds. You can then follow a live case by party or advocate name as its orders and hearings update across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, as explained in case search across Indian courts.

Your clients' documents are safe: Claw does not use customer case files to train its AI models. Open a free Claw account to search a forced-labour matter by party or advocate name. This explainer is general information, not legal advice, so check the current text of the section and take advice from counsel before you act.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• BNS Section 146 text: devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

Section numbers and punishments were checked against the published BNS text in October 2026. Always read the section as it stands on the day you act.

09Frequently asked questions