Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Section 171, BNS: Undue influence at elections
Section 171 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in the Act's own words, with the IPC provision it replaces.
What it replaces
| BNS provision | IPC provision | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Section 171 | Section 171C | corresponds |
From the Bureau of Police Research and Development's official comparison summary (source below). The whole table: IPC to BNS.
The section
171. Undue influence at elections.
(1) Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at an election. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), whoever— (a) threatens any candidate or voter, or any person in whom a candidate or voter is interested, with injury of any kind; or (b) induces or attempts to induce a candidate or voter to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered an object of Divine displeasure or of spiritual censure, shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or voter, within the meaning of sub-section (1). (3) A declaration of public policy or a promise of public action or the mere exercise or a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right, shall not be deemed to be interference within the meaning of this section.The text is India Code's consolidated text as loaded into Pundora's statute corpus on 1 September 2026. A section quoted in a draft checked by Pundora is checked against this text.
Sources
- India Code: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, section 171 (read 1 September 2026)
- Bureau of Police Research and Development: comparison summary, BNS to IPC (read 1 September 2026)