● Retained in BNS
The "insanity defence" -- nothing is an offence if done by a person who, due to unsoundness of mind, could not know the nature of the act or that it was wrong or unlawful -- is unchanged under BNS Section 22 from IPC 84.
Section 84 IPC provided that nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, is by reason of unsoundness of mind incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that what they were doing was either wrong or contrary to law -- the Code's general "insanity defence."
BNS Section 22 reproduces the exception verbatim, word for word -- no substantive change.
Nothing changed -- identical text, pure renumbering from IPC 84 to BNS 22.
This general exception is itself a defence: unsoundness of mind at the time of the act, such that the person could not know the nature of the act or that it was wrong or unlawful, negates criminal liability entirely.
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