● Modified in BNS
Mischief causing property damage now carries a graduated punishment under BNS Section 324(3)-(5) instead of IPC 427's single Rs 50 threshold: up to 1 year for any-amount damage (including to government or local-authority property), up to 2 years for damage of Rs 20,000 or more, and up to 5 years for damage of Rs 1 lakh or more -- a new top tier that did not exist under the IPC. Bailability is unchanged (bailable) throughout, but only the Rs-1-lakh-plus tier is cognizable; the lower two tiers are non-cognizable.
Section 427 IPC punished mischief that caused loss or damage of fifty rupees or upwards, with imprisonment of either description up to two years, or fine, or both -- a single flat rupee threshold, set in 1860 and never revised, that sat above the basic mischief offence under Section 426 (three months, for mischief causing damage below that threshold).
BNS Section 324 restructures the value-based mischief tiers into three graduated bands. Sub-section (3) punishes mischief causing loss or damage to any property, including property of the Government or a Local Authority, with imprisonment up to one year, or fine, or both -- regardless of amount. Sub-section (4) punishes mischief causing loss or damage of twenty thousand rupees or more (the BNS Act text caps this band at "less than one lakh rupees"; the BNSS First Schedule instead states the cap as "less than 2 lakh rupees" -- a discrepancy between the two official texts, flagged below) with imprisonment up to two years, or fine, or both. Sub-section (5) punishes mischief causing loss or damage of one lakh rupees or upwards with imprisonment up to five years, or fine, or both -- a higher ceiling than IPC 427 ever provided for mischief alone.
IPC 427's single, inflation-eroded Rs 50 threshold is replaced by a three-tier, rupee-indexed structure: any-amount property damage (up to 1 year), a mid-tier band starting at Rs 20,000 (up to 2 years, matching IPC 427's old ceiling), and a high-value band of Rs 1 lakh or more (up to 5 years, a wholly new enhanced tier with no IPC 427 counterpart). Flag for review: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act's own text caps the mid-tier band (324(4)) at "less than one lakh rupees," while the BNSS First Schedule's classification table caps the same band at "less than 2 lakh rupees" -- the two official sources conflict, and since 324(5) separately starts at "one lakh rupees or upwards," the Schedule's "2 lakh" figure appears to be a drafting error; the Act's "one lakh" ceiling was treated as the operative punishment threshold, while the Schedule was used only for the bail/cognizability/court classification, which does not depend on this figure.
BNS 324(3): imprisonment up to 1 year, or fine, or both (any-amount damage, including to Government or Local Authority property). BNS 324(4): imprisonment up to 2 years, or fine, or both (loss or damage of Rs 20,000 or more; see the Rs 1 lakh/2 lakh discrepancy noted above). BNS 324(5): imprisonment up to 5 years, or fine, or both (loss or damage of Rs 1 lakh or upwards)..
IPC 427 is bailable, across all three tiers (324(3), 324(4), and 324(5))..
This is a non-cognizable for 324(3) and 324(4); cognizable for 324(5) (rs 1 lakh or upwards). offence.
BNS 324(4) is compoundable without the permission of the court, by the person to whom the loss or damage is caused, where that loss or damage is confined to a private person. BNS 324(3) and 324(5) do not appear in either BNSS Section 359 compounding table and are therefore non-compoundable..
Matters under IPC 427 are tried before the Any Magistrate for 324(3) and 324(4); Magistrate of the First Class for 324(5)..
Common defences include disputing the valuation of the loss or damage (which determines which tier applies), absence of the intent or knowledge required for mischief in the first place (an accidental act is not mischief), and a bona fide claim of right over the property destroyed or damaged.
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