● Retained in BNS
Committing extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt carries imprisonment of either description up to 10 years, and fine, under BNS Section 308(5) -- identical to IPC 386 in every respect except the section number. It is a non-bailable, cognizable offence triable by a Magistrate of the First Class.
Section 386 IPC punished the aggravated form of extortion committed by putting a person in fear of death or of grievous hurt -- to that person or to any other -- with imprisonment of either description up to ten years, and fine. It sat between Section 385 (merely putting a person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion, a two-year offence) and Section 387 (putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to commit extortion, a seven-year attempt-level offence).
BNS Section 308 folds the entire extortion cluster into one section with the definition at sub-section (1) (IPC 383) and the graded punishments at sub-sections (2) through (7). Sub-section (5) reproduces Section 386's offence and its ten-year punishment word for word.
Nothing substantive changed. This is a pure renumbering: IPC 386 becomes BNS 308(5), with no alteration to the offence definition or the punishment.
Imprisonment of either description up to 10 years, and fine..
IPC 386 is non-bailable..
This is a cognizable. offence.
Non-compoundable..
Matters under IPC 386 are tried before the Magistrate of the First Class..
Common defences include the absence of any threat of death or grievous hurt specifically (which would instead attract the lesser offence under BNS 308(3)/(4), IPC 385/387), absence of dishonest inducement to part with property, and that the property was handed over voluntarily or pursuant to a legitimate claim rather than under fear of the threatened injury.
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