Death by Negligence Under the BNS (Section 106), Including Hit-and-Run (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Causing death by negligence is punished under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code in force since 1 July 2024. Section 106 replaced Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It covers a death caused by a rash or negligent act that is not culpable homicide. The general punishment rose to up to five years. This explainer sets out what Section 106 covers, the new hit-and-run clause, the carve-out for doctors, and what changed. Last verified October 2026.

01Negligence that causes death

Not every death that a person causes is murder or even culpable homicide. Many deaths come from carelessness: a road accident, a workplace mishap, a procedure that goes wrong. The law treats these as causing death by negligence, a separate and lesser offence, because there was no intention to kill and no knowledge that death was likely.

Since 1 July 2024 this offence is Section 106 of the BNS, not Section 304A of the IPC. The change is not only the number. The general sentence is higher, and there is a new, much-discussed clause for a driver who causes a death and then flees.

02What Section 106 covers

Section 106 of the BNS punishes a person who causes the death of another by a rash or negligent act that does not amount to culpable homicide. The key ingredients are:

• a death was caused;
• the death resulted from the accused’s rash or negligent act; and
• the act did not amount to culpable homicide, meaning there was no intention to cause death and no knowledge that death was likely.

Section 106 has two sub-sections. Section 106(1) is the general offence. Section 106(2) is the special clause for a driver who causes death by rash or negligent driving and then escapes without reporting.

03The hit-and-run clause, Section 106(2)

Section 106(2) is new. It applies where a person causes the death of another by rash or negligent driving of a vehicle (not amounting to culpable homicide) and escapes without reporting the incident to a police officer or a Magistrate soon after. The punishment can extend to ten years and a fine.

The point of the clause is the reporting duty. A driver who stops and reports the accident is dealt with under Section 106(1), with the lower sentence. A driver who flees falls under Section 106(2), with the higher one.

04Doctors: the medical-practitioner carve-out

Section 106 gives a lower ceiling where the death is caused by a registered medical practitioner while performing a medical procedure. In that case the punishment extends to two years and a fine, instead of the general five years.

A "registered medical practitioner" here means a practitioner with a medical qualification recognised under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, whose name is entered in the National or a State Medical Register. This carve-out responds to a long-standing concern that doctors faced the same exposure as any other accused for an error during treatment.

05Old to new: IPC 304A to BNS 106

Section 304A of the IPC is now Section 106 of the BNS, but with real changes, not just a new number.

So the headline change is a higher general sentence, a lighter ceiling for doctors, and a new and heavier clause for drivers who flee.

06Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 106(1) extends to five years and a fine, with a two-year ceiling for a registered medical practitioner during a procedure. Section 106(2) extends to ten years and a fine, once in force.

On classification, the general offence under Section 106(1) is cognizable and bailable, and triable by a Magistrate. The hit-and-run offence under Section 106(2) is treated as cognizable and non-bailable.

07What changed from the old law

Three things changed from Section 304A. First, the general sentence more than doubled, from up to two years to up to five. Second, doctors got a lower two-year ceiling for a death during a medical procedure. Third, the new Section 106(2) targets drivers who cause a death and flee, with up to ten years, though its commencement is deferred.

Because the core test (a rash or negligent act causing death) is carried over, older case law on Section 304A still helps on what counts as rash or negligent. For related offences, see culpable homicide under Section 105.

08Where 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.

Death-by-negligence matters, especially road-accident and medical-negligence cases, turn on how courts have read similar facts, and they often run alongside motor-accident claims and inquiries. Offences and procedure under Section 106 are charged and litigated in cases across India. Claw lets you search and track cases, orders and judgments by section, party or advocate across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with 30 crore+ judgments and results in under 5 seconds, so you can pull how courts treat rashness and negligence, or follow a live matter by party or advocate name.

Claw does not use customer case documents to train AI models. Create a FREE Claw account to search and track cases under this section by party or advocate name. For wider research, see case search across Indian courts.

09Sources 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 106, 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.

10Frequently asked questions