Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Section 296, BNS: Obscene acts and songs
Section 296 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 296 | Section 294 | corresponds |
From the Bureau of Police Research and Development's official comparison summary (source below). The whole table: IPC to BNS.
The section
296. Obscene acts and songs.
Whoever, to the annoyance of others,— (a) does any obscene act in any public place; or (b) sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.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 296 (read 1 September 2026)
- Bureau of Police Research and Development: comparison summary, BNS to IPC (read 1 September 2026)