Intercourse by public servant with woman in his custody
Section 376B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with intercourse by public servant with woman in his custody. Whoever, being a public servant, takes advantage of his official position and induces or seduces, any woman, who is in his custody as such public servant or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to him, to have sexual intercourse with him, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offenc 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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, being a public servant, takes advantage of his official position and induces or seduces, any woman, who is in his custody as such public servant or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to him, to have sexual intercourse with him, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 376B, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 68 Sexual intercourse by a person in authority Distant match 55%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 7
- Code of Criminal Procedure s. 173 Report of police officer on completion of investigation
- Code of Criminal Procedure s. 198 Prosecution for offences against marriage
- Code of Criminal Procedure Act s. 198 Prosecution for offences against marriage
- Criminal Law (Aunachal Pradesh Amendment) Act 2018 s. 16
- Crpc 1973 s. 198 Prosecution for offences against marriage
- Gujarat Prevention of Anti-social Activities Act s. 7
- s. 228A Disclosure of identity of the victim of certain offences, etc
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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Ganesh Rai& ORS. vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When allegations involve serious crimes such as abduction and repeated rape, the gravity and seriousness of the charges take precedence over contentions regarding delay in FIR registration or improbability of allegations in determining whether pre-arrest bail should be granted under Section 438 CrPC.
On this section: Sexual intercourse by person in authority
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Vishvendra Kumar vs State of Rajasthan through Pp
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases involving sexual offences where the prosecutrix expresses her consent, love, and willingness to marry the accused, and the accused is willing to marry the prosecutrix, bail may be granted as it would be just and expedient to do so, subject to the satisfaction of the Trial Court.
On this section: Offence of sexual assault; the petitioner was charged under this section for alleged sexual offence
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 376B
What have the courts held on Section 376B of the Indian Penal Code?
Ganesh Rai& ORS. vs The State of Bihar (13 Oct 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Sexual intercourse by person in authority. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2015 to 2017.
How do I find court cases under Section 376B 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 376B, section 376B IPC, section 376B of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type 376b ipc punishment. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Ganesh Rai& ORS. vs The State of Bihar (13 Oct 2015).
What should I read with Section 376B of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
7 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 68 (Sexual intercourse by a person in authority), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 376B of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 376B of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 376B, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
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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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.