● Modified in BNS
Voyeurism -- watching or capturing images of a woman in a private act without her consent, or disseminating such images -- carries 1 to 3 years' imprisonment on a first conviction and 3 to 7 years on a repeat conviction under BNS Section 77. The BNS broadens the possible perpetrator from IPC 354C's "any man" to a gender-neutral "whoever."
Section 354C IPC (inserted in 2013) punished any man who watched or captured the image of a woman engaging in a private act -- in circumstances where she would expect not to be observed -- or disseminated such an image, including one she consented to being captured but not to being shared. First conviction: 1 to 3 years' imprisonment and fine. Second or subsequent conviction: 3 to 7 years and fine.
BNS Section 77 reproduces the punishment structure and both explanations identically, but changes the opening phrase from "Any man who watches" to "Whoever watches" -- broadening who can be charged as a perpetrator, while the protected victim description (a woman in a private act) stays the same.
Punishment and definitions unchanged. The genuine textual change is the perpetrator description broadening from "any man" to "whoever."
First conviction: imprisonment of either description for 1 to 3 years, and fine. Second or subsequent conviction: 3 to 7 years, and fine..
IPC 354C is bailable for a first conviction; non-bailable for a second or subsequent conviction..
This is a cognizable. offence.
Non-compoundable..
Matters under IPC 354C are tried before the Court of Session..
Common defences include the absence of a reasonable expectation of privacy in the circumstances, the image being captured or shared with the woman's consent, and mistaken identity.
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