Kidnapping or abducting child under ten years with intent to steal from its person
Section 369 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with kidnapping or abducting child under ten years with intent to steal from its person. Whoever kidnaps or abducts any child under the age of ten years with the intention of taking dishonestly any movable property from the person of such child, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine. The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
Whoever kidnaps or abducts any child under the age of ten years with the intention of taking dishonestly any movable property from the person of such child, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 369, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 97 Kidnapping or abducting child under ten years of age with intent to steal from its person Text carried over almost unchanged 98%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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.
-
Shaik Ghouse Basha vs The State of Andhra Pradesh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an appellate court finds that the conviction imposed by the trial court is legally justified and supported by sufficient evidence, it should not interfere with the conviction. However, the appellate court has the discretion to reduce the sentence if, considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the time already undergone by the convict, it finds that the original sentence is disproportionate or that the convict has already suffered sufficient punishment through incarceration.
On this section: Kidnapping - The court applied this section to convict the accused for kidnapping the deceased child with intent to hold him for ransom
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 369
What have the courts held on Section 369 of the Indian Penal Code?
Shaik Ghouse Basha vs The State of Andhra Pradesh (26 Sep 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Kidnapping - The court applied this section to convict the accused for kidnapping the deceased child with intent to hold him for ransom.
How do I find court cases under Section 369 of the Indian Penal Code?
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: IPC 369, section 369 IPC, section 369 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 369 in bns and ipc 369 article. 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 Shaik Ghouse Basha vs The State of Andhra Pradesh (26 Sep 2016).
What should I read with Section 369 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 97 (Kidnapping or abducting child under ten years of age with intent to steal from its person), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 369 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 369 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 369, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 499. Defamation1512 words
- 464. Making a false document1223 words
- 300. Murder1172 words
- 378. Theft980 words
- 108. Abettor745 words
- 403. Dishonest misappropriation of property727 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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.