Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) punishes acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. It is the provision that took the place of the colonial-era offence of sedition (Section 124A IPC) when the BNS came into force on 1 July 2024. Sedition as an offence against the government is not retained: Section 152 instead penalises acts directed against the nation itself
What Section 152 BNS provides
Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise:
- Excites or attempts to excite secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities;
- Encourages feelings of separatist activities; or
- Endangers the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India, or indulges in or commits any such act,
is punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
An Explanation protects legitimate dissent: comments expressing disapprobation of the measures or administrative action of the Government, made with a view to obtaining their alteration by lawful means and without exciting or attempting to excite the activities the section describes, do not constitute an offence under it.
How Section 152 differs from sedition
Section 124A IPC punished exciting or attempting to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law; the offence protected the government of the day. Section 152 BNS drops the words "sedition" and "disaffection" altogether and re-anchors the offence to the nation: secession, armed rebellion, subversion, separatism and danger to India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. It also names modern instruments - electronic communication and the use of financial means - reflecting how such activities are organised and funded today. Whether the new wording narrows or widens the old offence in practice is a question the courts will settle; the constitutional standards developed around Section 124A remain the obvious reference point.
Procedure and bail
The offence is cognizable and non-bailable, and is triable by the Court of Session. Given the gravity of the punishment range, these cases are investigated and tried as serious offences, and bail is a matter for the court's discretion rather than of right.
What changed from the IPC
Sedition (Section 124A IPC) is not carried into the BNS by name. Section 152 replaces it with a differently framed offence: the target of protection shifts from the government to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; the acts are specified (secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist feelings) instead of the open-ended "disaffection"; and electronic communication and financial means are expressly covered. Notably, by the time of the changeover the Supreme Court had already put Section 124A in abeyance, so Section 152 begins on a clean slate rather than as a renumbering of a live provision.
Leading Supreme Court judgments
- Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) - upheld the constitutionality of Section 124A IPC but confined it to acts having a tendency to incite violence or public disorder, a limit courts are likely to read into Section 152 as well.
- S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India (2022) - the order in which the Supreme Court kept Section 124A in abeyance, pausing pending trials and directing that no fresh FIRs be registered under it while the provision was reconsidered.
Accused in a case under Section 152 BNS, or advising someone who is? These are Sessions-triable cases where the charge's framing and the free-speech Explanation matter from day one. Talk to a criminal lawyer in your city or browse advocates in the Free Law directory.