BNS Section 96: Procuration of a child for illicit intercourse (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 96 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) punishes the procuration of a child, that is, inducing a child below eighteen years to go somewhere or do an act so that the child may be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person. The BNS has been in force since 1 July 2024. Section 96 replaced Section 366A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The punishment is imprisonment of either description for up to ten years, and a fine. If you still look up "section 366A IPC", this is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 96 covers, its ingredients, the gender-neutral change, and the punishment. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number changed

For decades, the procuration of a minor girl was an offence under Section 366A of the Indian Penal Code. Since 1 July 2024 the IPC is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and this offence now sits in Section 96 of the BNS, with a wider reach.

This matters in practice. An FIR for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2024 cites Section 96, not Section 366A. An older matter keeps its IPC number, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. For some years both numbers will appear in live cases, so each must be read correctly.

02What Section 96 covers

Section 96 punishes a person who, by any means, induces a child below eighteen years to go from any place or to do any act. The act must be done with the intent that the child may be, or with knowledge that it is likely the child will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person.

The offence is complete at the stage of inducement. The child need not actually be forced or seduced. What matters is the inducing act, joined with the stated intent or knowledge.

03Ingredients of the offence

To make out an offence under Section 96, the prosecution must show:

• The victim is a child below eighteen years.
• The accused, by any means whatsoever, induced the child to go from a place or to do an act.
• The inducement was done with intent that the child be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person, or with knowledge that this was likely.

"Illicit intercourse" carries its ordinary meaning of sexual intercourse between persons not united by marriage or any union recognised by law. The focus of the section is on the person who procures or arranges, not on the person who later has intercourse, who may face separate and heavier charges.

04Old to new: IPC 366A to BNS 96

Section 366A of the IPC is now Section 96 of the BNS, widened to cover all children.

Case law on Section 366A still helps on the meaning of inducement and intent, but the new section reaches a wider class of victims.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 96 is imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to ten years, and the offender is also liable to a fine.

On classification, the offence under Section 96 is treated as:

• Cognizable: the police can register an FIR and investigate without prior approval of a court.
• Non-bailable: bail is not a matter of right and is decided by the court.
• Triable by the Court of Session: it is dealt with as a serious offence against a child.

06What changed from the old law

The main change from the old law is reach. Section 366A protected only a minor girl. Section 96 of the BNS protects every child below eighteen years, regardless of gender. The core of the offence, inducing a child so that the child may be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, is carried over.

The punishment of up to ten years and a fine is unchanged. So the real shift is that boys are now protected on the same footing as girls, which closes a long-noted gap in the old law.

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 procuration matter rarely stands alone; it is usually charged with kidnapping, trafficking and child-protection offences, so the record spreads over several sections and more than one court. Pulling that record together is where Claw helps: it searches more than 30 crore judgments across 9,102 courts, benches and forums and returns results in under five seconds, so you can trace how the courts read the old Section 366A and now Section 96, by section or by the name of a party or advocate. A related child offence, buying a child for the purposes of prostitution, is covered by Section 99 of the BNS.

Nothing you upload trains the models; Claw does not use customer documents that way. Set up a free Claw account to follow procuration cases as they move, and to search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS overview and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• Section 96, BNS (bare text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

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