Fouling Water and Making the Air Noxious Under the BNS (Sections 279 and 280): IPC 277 and 278 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · New Criminal Code · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A public well or reservoir is poisoned or dirtied, so the water is no longer fit to use. A factory or an act of burning makes the air in a place unsafe to breathe. These are old offences, carried into the new criminal code, that protect shared water and air for everyone. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, fouling the water of a public spring or reservoir is Section 279 (old Section 277 of the Indian Penal Code), and making the atmosphere noxious to health is Section 280 (old Section 278). This explainer sets out what each covers, the exact old to new mapping, and the punishment. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: shared water and air

Water and air are shared. When a public water source is fouled, or the air in a place is made unsafe, the harm falls on everyone who uses that water or breathes that air. The criminal law has long treated these acts as public wrongs, separate from any private claim.

The new criminal code keeps both offences among those that affect public health, safety, and the environment. They are small in punishment compared with serious crimes, but they matter, because they are among the few general criminal provisions that touch pollution directly.

These offences often run alongside special environmental laws, which carry their own, heavier penalties.

02The exact section numbers

Getting the number right is important here, because the numbering shifted and it is easy to cite the wrong section.

03Section 279: fouling water

Section 279 of the BNS punishes a person who voluntarily corrupts or fouls the water of any public spring or reservoir, so as to make it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used.

The punishment is imprisonment of either description up to six months, or a fine up to five thousand rupees, or both. This is heavier than the old law, which set the term at up to three months and the fine at up to five hundred rupees.

04Section 280: making the air noxious

Section 280 of the BNS punishes a person who voluntarily vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the health of persons in general who dwell or carry on business in the neighbourhood, or who pass along a public way.

The punishment is a fine up to one thousand rupees. The old law set the fine at up to five hundred rupees, so the ceiling was raised. This offence carries only a fine, which shows it was framed as a minor penalty long ago, well before modern pollution laws.

These sections are the general criminal law on dirty water and foul air. For serious pollution, the special environmental statutes do the heavy lifting.

05Old to new mapping

Both offences carry over from the Indian Penal Code, 1860, with the same core meaning and higher money penalties.

• Fouling water: old Section 277 is now Section 279. Imprisonment rose from up to three months to up to six months, and the fine from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000.
• Making the air noxious: old Section 278 is now Section 280. The fine ceiling rose from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.

The substance of each offence is unchanged, so judgments on the old sections continue to guide the new ones. Only the numbers and the money penalties moved.

06Practical points

• Use the right number. Fouling water is Section 279. Making the air noxious is Section 280. Section 282 is rash navigation of a vessel, not the air offence.
• Public source for water. Section 279 applies to a public spring or reservoir. The water must be made less fit for its ordinary use.
• General harm for air. Section 280 needs the air to be made noxious to people in general in the neighbourhood, not just to one person.
• Check the environmental laws. For real pollution, special environmental statutes usually carry far heavier penalties and are often the main charge. These BNS sections may be added.
• Read the current text. Check the sections and classification on the day you advise or file.

For related offences affecting public health and safety, see negligently or malignantly spreading infection and adulteration of drugs.

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.

Fouling water and making the air noxious are usually charged beside the special environmental statutes, so research means tracing how courts have read the general and the special law together, and then watching the live matter. Claw does both. You can search more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, with each result back in under five seconds, to see how Sections 279 and 280 and their old IPC numbers have been applied. You can also track cases, orders and hearings by party name or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. Claw does not use the documents you upload to train its AI models.

Create a free Claw account to pull pollution-offence rulings and follow a live charge by party or advocate name. To search across the court system, see our hub on case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of central Acts): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Annotated BNS, Chapter XV (public health and safety): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The BNS can be amended and courts interpret it over time, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions