● Retained in BNS
IPC Section 306 punished abetment of suicide with imprisonment up to 10 years and fine. Under the BNS, the same offence and punishment continue as Section 108. It is a cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable offence tried before the Court of Session.
Section 306 IPC punished abetment of suicide: where a person commits suicide, anyone who abetted its commission (through instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid) was punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years and fine.
BNS Section 108 retains the offence and punishment without substantive change: imprisonment up to 10 years and fine for abetment of suicide, with abetment itself defined in the BNS's general abetment provisions carried forward from the IPC.
Substance retained; IPC 306 is renumbered to BNS Section 108.
Imprisonment up to 10 years, and fine.
IPC 306 is non-bailable.
This is a cognizable offence.
Non-compoundable.
Matters under IPC 306 are tried before the Court of Session.
The prosecution must show actual abetment, meaning instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid towards the act of suicide, not merely that the accused's conduct preceded the death or caused general distress. Courts have repeatedly held that a mere quarrel, harsh words, or a strained relationship, without a clear act of instigation with intent that the person take their own life, does not by itself amount to abetment. Absence of proximate instigation close in time to the death, and absence of the required intention, are common defences.
Summaries are for general information and are not legal advice. For the authoritative bare-act text, see the official Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Indian Penal Code, 1860 (full amended text, as it stood before repeal) on India Code, or the Ministry of Home Affairs' new criminal laws page. ← All comparisons