Adulteration of Food or Drink Under the BNS (Section 274): IPC 272 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · BNS · Offences Affecting Public Health

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Mixing something harmful into food or drink that is meant for sale is an old and serious wrong, because the person who eats or drinks it has no way to know. Since 1 July 2024 the offence has a new address. The Indian Penal Code has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and adulteration of food or drink for sale is now Section 274. This explainer sets out what Section 274 says, which old IPC section it replaces, the punishment, and whether the offence is cognizable and bailable. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: harm the buyer cannot see

Food and drink reach the buyer already mixed, cooked or packed. The buyer cannot test what is inside. That is why the law treats adulteration of food meant for sale as a public wrong, not just a private cheat. The danger is to the health of whoever ends up eating or drinking the article.

The practical problem today is the number. For generations adulteration of food or drink intended for sale was Section 272 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. From 1 July 2024 it has become Section 274 of the BNS. A charge drawn today must use Section 274, while a search for older authorities still needs Section 272.

Adulteration of food or drink for sale is now Section 274 of the BNS, the old Section 272 of the IPC. The fine is raised, but the offence is the same.

02What Section 274 covers

Section 274 of the BNS punishes a person who adulterates any article of food or drink so as to make it noxious as food or drink, in either of two situations:

• intending to sell the article as food or drink; or
• knowing it to be likely that the article will be sold as food or drink.

Three things must come together. There must be an article of food or drink. It must be adulterated so as to become noxious, meaning harmful. And there must be the intention to sell it, or the knowledge that it is likely to be sold. Adulteration that is harmless, or that is not meant for sale, does not fall under this section.

03The old-to-new mapping

The two closely linked IPC sections move across together.

So the search term "section 272 IPC in BNS" points to Section 274. For the wider renumbering, see the IPC to BNS section converter.

04Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 274 is imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to six months, or fine that may extend to five thousand rupees, or both.

On classification, the offence is treated as:

• Cognizable or not: non-cognizable, so in general the police need a Magistrate’s order to investigate.
• Bailable or not: bailable.
• Triable by: any Magistrate.

The old Section 272 of the IPC carried the same six months of imprisonment but a fine of only up to one thousand rupees. The BNS has raised the fine to five thousand rupees, and kept the rest the same.

05Section 274 and the food safety law

Food adulteration is also dealt with, in much more detail, by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) administers. That Act has its own definitions of "unsafe" and "substandard" food, its own penalties, and its own machinery of food safety officers and designated courts.

In practice a case of spoiled or adulterated food is often taken up under the food safety law, which is the specialist code, rather than under Section 274 of the BNS alone. Which route is used depends on the facts and on who takes action. The two are not the same, so it is worth confirming under which law a given prosecution is brought.

06What changed, and what did not

In substance the offence is the same as before. The BNS kept the three ingredients: an article of food or drink, adulteration that makes it noxious, and the intention or knowledge that it will be sold. It kept the six-month maximum imprisonment. The main change is the higher fine, raised from one thousand rupees under the IPC to five thousand rupees under the BNS.

Because the offence is carried over almost unchanged, case law decided under Section 272 of the IPC still guides how Section 274 is read. For research that means covering both the old and the new numbers.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A food adulteration matter needs research and tracking at once, and both are harder because the section was renumbered in 2024 and the case may run under the BNS, the food safety law, or both. Claw holds more than 30 crore judgments, going back to the Supreme Court from 1950 and the High Courts from 1990, so you can pull authorities decided under Section 274 of the BNS and the old Section 272 of the IPC together, with each search answered in under five seconds. It also follows the live cases, orders and hearings under this section, by party name or advocate name, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. Claw does not file a case, does not give legal advice, and does not use the documents you upload to train its AI models.

Create a free Claw account to trace food-adulteration precedent across both section numbers and track your own matter by party or advocate name. For the wider view, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Bare text of BNS Section 274 (reference): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers and punishments change through amendments and notifications, so check the current official text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions