● Modified in BNS
Base mischief -- causing wrongful loss or damage to property -- carries up to 6 months' imprisonment under BNS Section 324(2), double the old IPC 426's 3-month ceiling. The BNS also adds new monetary-loss tiers and a wholly new aggravated tier for mischief committed in preparation to harm a person.
Section 426 IPC punished the base mischief offence -- whenever none of the aggravated, monetary-threshold or target-specific mischief provisions applied -- with imprisonment of either description up to 3 months, or fine, or both.
BNS Section 324(2) is the direct successor, with the same "or fine, or both" structure but the maximum imprisonment doubled to 6 months. BNS also restructures the old threshold provisions into cleaner tiers within the same section: 324(3) covers loss to government or local-authority property (up to 1 year), 324(4) covers loss of Rs 20,000 to under Rs 2 lakh (up to 2 years), 324(5) covers loss of Rs 1 lakh or more (up to 5 years), and 324(6) is an entirely new tier for mischief committed in preparation for causing death, hurt, wrongful restraint or fear of any of those to a person (up to 5 years and fine).
The base offence's maximum imprisonment doubles from 3 months to 6 months. More significantly, several separate IPC mischief sections are consolidated into tiered sub-sections with updated monetary thresholds, plus a wholly new aggravated tier for mischief committed to prepare for harming a person, which the IPC did not have under this heading.
Imprisonment of either description up to 6 months, or fine, or both..
IPC 426 is bailable..
This is a non-cognizable. offence.
Compoundable without the permission of the court, by the person to whom the loss or damage is caused..
Matters under IPC 426 are tried before the Any Magistrate..
Common defences include absence of intent or knowledge that wrongful loss or damage would result, the act being done in exercise of a lawful right over the property, and consent of the person entitled to the property.
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