Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life
Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life. Whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 272, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code
IPC 270 Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life Text carried over almost unchanged 100%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
How this offence is classified
From the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which classifies every offence under the Sanhita. Cognizable means a police officer may arrest without warrant; bailable means bail is a matter of right rather than of the court's discretion.
| Offence | Punishment | Cognizable | Bailable | Triable by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malignantly doing any act known to be likely to spread infection of any disease dangerous to life. | Imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both. | Cognizable. | Bailable. | Any Magistrate. |
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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G. Srinivas Krishna vs State of Karnataka
Decided under Indian Penal Code 270, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Once a chargesheet has been filed, a Special Leave Petition challenging the underlying criminal proceedings cannot be maintained without directly challenging the chargesheet itself. The appropriate forum and remedy for challenging a chargesheet is not the Supreme Court via SLP but the trial court or through criminal revision, and the Supreme Court will dispose of an SLP where the chargesheet is not directly challenged and no independent legal question survives.
On this section: Cognizable offence of negligently acting with knowledge of danger to life; added later and included in final chargesheet
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 272
What have the courts held on Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
G. Srinivas Krishna vs State of Karnataka (05 Jul 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IPC 270, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Cognizable offence of negligently acting with knowledge of danger to life; added later and included in final chargesheet.
Is Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?
Bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Is Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cognizable?
Cognizable. "Cognizable" means a police officer may arrest without warrant; "non-cognizable" that they may not. An offence under this section is triable by Any Magistrate.
How do I find court cases under Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNS 272, section 272 BNS, section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type 272 bns punishment and 272 bns act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with G. Srinivas Krishna vs State of Karnataka (05 Jul 2011).
What should I read with Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. It carries forward IPC 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?
Section 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 272, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
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Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.