BNS Section 91: Act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive or to cause to die after birth
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter 5: Of Offences Against Woman and Child - Of sexual offences - Of criminal force and assault against woman - Of offences relating to marriage - Of causing miscarriage, etc. - Of offences against child
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¶91. Whoever before the birth of any child does any act with the intention of thereby preventing that child from being born alive or causing it to die after its birth, and does by such act prevent that child from being born alive, or causes it to die after its birth, shall, if such act be not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the mother, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, or with fine, or with both.
Study: explanations and related material
Replaces IPC 315. IPC → BNS converterSource: BPR&D BNS–IPC corresponding section table (UP Police, 2024-06-28)
Punishment, bail and trial
91Act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive, or to cause it to die after its birth.
- Punishment
- Imprisonment for 10 years, or fine, or both.
- Cognizable or not
- Cognizable
- Bailable or not
- Non‑bailable
- Triable by
- Court of Session
Source: BNSS First Schedule, Gazette of India, 25 December 2023, p. 162. The Schedule gives the substance of the section, not its full definition, and a State may have amended the classification for its territory. See it in the full First Schedule
Official reference: Ministry of Home Affairs: Gazette text, 25 December 2023 — source link checked: 2 October 2026.Recorded edition / snapshot date: 2024-07-01.Mobile-app reference import; the recorded snapshot date is not a fresh legal-currency guarantee. The linked government text is an independent authoritative reference, not certification that this website reproduces the same edition. The source link was checked, not every provision or subsequent amendment. Check commencement notifications, savings and jurisdiction-specific variations separately.
This text is for reference, not legal advice. Consult the official source for the authoritative text.
Other sections in this chapter
- 63. Rape
- 64. Punishment for rape
- 65. Punishment for rape in certain cases
- 66. Punishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim
- 67. Sexual intercourse by husband upon his wife during separation
- 68. Sexual intercourse by a person in authority
- 69. Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means, etc
- 70. Gang rape
- 71. Punishment for repeat offenders
- 72. Disclosure of identity of victim of certain offences, etc
- 73. Printing or publishing of any matter relating to Court proceedings without permission
- 74. Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty
- 75. Sexual harassment
- 76. Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe
- 77. Voyeurism
- 78. Stalking
- 79. Word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman
- 80. Dowry death
- 81. Cohabitation caused by man deceitfully inducing belief of lawful marriage
- 82. Marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife
- 83. Marriage ceremony fraudulently gone through without lawful marriage
- 84. Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman
- 85. Husband or relative of the husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty
- 86. Cruelty defined
- 87. Kidnapping, abducting, or inducing a woman to compel her marriage, etc
- 88. Causing miscarriage
- 89. Causing miscarriage without woman’s consent
- 90. Death caused by an act done with the intent to cause miscarriage
- 92. Causing the death of a quick unborn child by an act amounting to culpable homicide
- 93. Exposure and abandonment of a child under twelve years of age, by parent or person having care of it
- 94. Concealment of birth by secret disposal of a dead body
- 95. Hiring, employing, or engaging a child to commit an offence
- 96. Procuration of a child
- 97. Kidnapping or abducting a child under ten years of age with the intent to steal from its person
- 98. Selling a child for purposes of prostitution, etc
- 99. Buying a child for purposes of prostitution, etc