● Retained in BNS
Harm arising from an act not intended or known to be likely to cause death or grievous hurt is not an offence if the adult victim consented to the harm or the risk of it -- unchanged under BNS Section 25 from IPC 87, still requiring the consenting person to be above 18.
Section 87 IPC excused harm caused by an act not intended, and not known to the doer to be likely, to cause death or grievous hurt, where the person harmed -- above 18 years of age -- had given express or implied consent to suffer that harm or to take the risk of it. Illustrated by two people agreeing to fence for amusement, implying consent to any harm sustained during fair play.
BNS Section 25 reproduces the exception and illustration verbatim, including the above-18 consent-age floor -- no substantive change.
Nothing changed -- identical text, pure renumbering from IPC 87 to BNS 25.
This general exception is itself a defence: genuine, informed consent by an adult to an act not intended or known to be likely to cause death or grievous hurt negates criminal liability for resulting harm.
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