Causing miscarriage without woman's consent
Section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with causing miscarriage without woman's consent. Whoever commits the offence under section 88 without the consent of the woman, whether the woman is quick with child or not, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Whoever commits the offence under section 88 without the consent of the woman, whether the woman is quick with child or not, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 89, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code
IPC 313 Causing miscarriage without woman's consent Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
This section refers to
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Causing miscarriage without women's consent. | Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 10 years and fine. | Cognizable. | Non-bailable. | Court of Session. |
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.
-
Ganga Bai vs State of Rajasthan
Decided under Indian Penal Code 313, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When circumstantial evidence creates an unbroken chain leading to only one hypothesis of guilt, and particularly when an accused is found to possess blood-stained clothes recovered on their disclosure with no explanation provided during Section 313 IPC questioning, and when the investigation appears impartial with no suggestion of police malpractice, the conviction can be sustained based on such circumstantial evidence. Moreover, the acquittal of a co-accused charged under Section 34 IPC does not automatically entitle another co-accused to similar acquittal if there is conclusive evidence of direct involvement of that co-accused in the offence.
On this section: Examination of accused; the court noted that despite questioning under this section, the appellant provided no explanation for the presence of human blood on her clothes, which the court treated as highly incriminating
-
Sanjay Kumar Jain vs State of Delhi
Decided under Indian Penal Code 313, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where a woman dies within seven years of marriage in unnatural circumstances and it is established that she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or his relatives for or in connection with demand for dowry, the husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death under Section 304B IPC, even if the exact manner and perpetrator of death cannot be conclusively proved through direct evidence. The prosecution must establish the three ingredients of Section 304B: (1) cruelty or harassment by husband or relatives; (2) such cruelty or harassment was for or in connection with dowry demand; (3) such cruelty or harassment was within seven years of marriage. In cases of circumstantial evidence, all circumstances must be fully proved, conclusive in nature, and form a complete chain excluding every hypothesis except guilt; however, Section 304B provides a substantive offence that does not require the same level of proof as murder under Section 302 IPC.
On this section: Statement of accused - Court noted that questions must be framed fairly to enable accused to explain circumstances against him
-
Lalit Yadav vs State of U.p. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko.
Decided under Indian Penal Code 313, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused has already been enlarged on bail in all related cases and the conditions under Section 19(4) of the U.P. Gangster and Anti Social Activities Prevention Act, 1986 are satisfied, bail should be granted in the main case as well, subject to strict conditions ensuring appearance and compliance with trial proceedings, in accordance with the principle that bail is the rule and committal to jail is the exception.
On this section: Recording of statement of accused; made mandatory bail condition
-
Hasibuddin Mondal ORS vs State of West Bengal
Decided under Indian Penal Code 313, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Family members cannot be prosecuted for offences under Sections 493, 376, or 313 of the IPC when the alleged sexual acts and deception are attributed solely to the principal accused and the ingredients of such crimes do not apply to the relatives.
On this section: Causing miscarriage without woman's consent.
-
Xxx vs In Re- State of Assam
Decided under Indian Penal Code 313, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a criminal offence is continuing in nature, initiated in one jurisdiction with consequences ensuing in that same jurisdiction, and parts of the offence (including the consequences) occur within that jurisdiction, the court having jurisdiction over that area where the offence was initiated and consequences ensued has the authority to conduct the trial, even if part of the criminal acts occurred in a different jurisdiction. This principle applies under Sections 178 and 179 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and the trial court need not be changed merely because some acts constituting the offence occurred in a different territorial jurisdiction.
On this section: Offence of causing death by act amounting to culpable homicide. Court noted that part of this offence occurred under Nalbari jurisdiction.
-
Ugranarain Rai vs State of Bihar
Decided under Indian Penal Code 313, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Mere possession of currency notes, even if they are counterfeit, does not constitute an offence under Sections 489B and 489C IPC unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that the accused possessed the notes with knowledge or with reason to believe that they were counterfeit. Additionally, a preliminary opinion from the Reserve Bank of India is not admissible under Section 292 Cr.P.C. to establish that currency notes are counterfeit; only the final opinion from the authorized mint at Dewas, Madhya Pradesh is admissible for this purpose. The burden of proof lies on the prosecution to establish each and every ingredient of the offence through admissible evidence, and circumstantial evidence or preliminary expert opinions are insufficient to sustain a conviction for counterfeiting offences.
On this section: Statement of accused - appellant's statement denying knowledge of counterfeit nature and claiming innocent receipt of notes from unknown person
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 89
What have the courts held on Section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
Ganga Bai vs State of Rajasthan (30 Sep 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IPC 313, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Examination of accused; the court noted that despite questioning under this section, the appellant provided no explanation for the presence of human blood on her clothes, which the court treated as highly incriminating. Another 5 judgments on this section are set out below, 2 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2010 to 2025.
Is Section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?
Non-bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Is Section 89 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 Court of Session.
How do I find court cases under Section 89 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 89, section 89 BNS, section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 89 in ipc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 6 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Ganga Bai vs State of Rajasthan (30 Sep 2015).
What should I read with Section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 88 (Causing miscarriage), so none of them can safely be read on its own. It carries forward IPC 313 (Causing miscarriage without woman's consent), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?
Section 89 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 89, 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.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions2199 words
- 356. Defamation1543 words
- 335. Making a false document1318 words
- 101. Murder1177 words
- 303. Theft1104 words
- 3. General explanations858 words
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 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.