Selling minor for purposes of prostitution, etc
Section 372 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with selling minor for purposes of prostitution, etc. Whoever sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any [person under the age of eighteen years with intent that such person shall at any age be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any person or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, or knowing it to be like 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any [person under the age of eighteen years with intent that such person shall at any age be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any person or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, or knowing it to be likely that such person will at any age be]
employed or used for any such purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
[Explanation I.-When a female under the age of eighteen years is sold, let for hire, or otherwise disposed of to a prostitute or to any person who keeps or manages a brothel, the person so disposing of such female shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have disposed of her with the intent that she shall be used for the purpose of prostitution.
Explanation II.-For the purposes of this section "illicit intercourse" means sexual intercourse between persons not united by marriage, or by any union or tie which though not amounting to a marriage, is recognised by the personal law or custom of the community to which they belong or, where they belong to different communities, of both such communities, as constituting between them a quasi-marital relation.]
Section 372, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 98 Selling child for purposes of prostitution, etc Text carried over almost unchanged 94%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
Referred to by 1
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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Manjappa vs State of Karnataka
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases of trafficking and sexual exploitation of minor girls under Section 366A, 372, and 373 IPC, where the victim is established to be below 18 years of age and evidence of procurement, sale, and exploitation for prostitution is credible and acceptable, the Court should impose a deterrent sentence. A sentence of seven years imprisonment with fine of Rs. 50,000 is just, proper, and proportionate in such cases, and no reduction in sentence is warranted merely on grounds of leniency or conduct of the accused, given the serious nature of the offence and the vulnerability of the victim.
On this section: Selling of minor for purposes of prostitution. Applied to hold that the accused disposed of the victim (minor) for Rs. 5,000 with intention that she be employed for prostitution and immoral purposes. Maximum punishment prescribed is 10 years imprisonment and fine.
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 372
What have the courts held on Section 372 of the Indian Penal Code?
Manjappa vs State of Karnataka (08 Sep 2010) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Selling of minor for purposes of prostitution. Applied to hold that the accused disposed of the victim (minor) for Rs. 5,000 with intention that she be employed for prostitution and immoral purposes. Maximum punishment prescribed is 10 years imprisonment and fine.
How do I find court cases under Section 372 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 372, section 372 IPC, section 372 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 372 and 373 and ipc 372 in bns in hindi. 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 Manjappa vs State of Karnataka (08 Sep 2010).
What should I read with Section 372 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 98 (Selling child for purposes of prostitution, etc), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 372 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 372 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 372, 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
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- 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.