Robbery and Dacoity Under the BNS (Sections 309 and 310) (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Robbery and dacoity are now Sections 309 and 310 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), in force from 1 July 2024. Robbery replaces the old robbery sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and dacoity replaces the old dacoity sections. Robbery is punishable with rigorous imprisonment up to ten years, and dacoity with life imprisonment or up to ten years. This explainer sets out what each covers, the punishments, and the old-to-new mapping. Last verified October 2026.

01Robbery under Section 309 of the BNS

Robbery is an aggravated form of theft or extortion. Section 309 of the BNS says that:

• Theft becomes robbery when, in order to commit theft or to carry away the stolen property, the offender voluntarily causes or tries to cause death, hurt, or wrongful restraint, or the fear of it.
• Extortion becomes robbery when the offender, at the time of the extortion, puts the victim in fear of instant death, hurt, or wrongful restraint, and so induces delivery of the thing then and there.

So the extra element in robbery is force or the fear of instant harm. That is what separates robbery from a plain theft or a plain extortion.

Robbery is theft or extortion made worse by force, or by the fear of instant death, hurt, or wrongful restraint.

02Dacoity under Section 310 of the BNS

Section 310 of the BNS defines dacoity. When five or more persons together commit or attempt to commit a robbery, or where the persons committing or attempting the robbery, together with those present and aiding, are five or more, each of them is said to commit dacoity.

The key feature of dacoity is numbers. It is robbery by a group of five or more. The law treats it more seriously because a group crime is more frightening and harder to resist.

03Old to new mapping

The BNS carries the old robbery and dacoity scheme forward under new numbers, consolidating several IPC sections.

Because the ingredients are carried over, judgments decided under the old robbery and dacoity sections remain good guidance for Sections 309 and 310.

04Punishment and classification

Robbery (Section 309): rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and a fine. If the robbery is committed on a highway between sunset and sunrise, the imprisonment may extend to fourteen years. An attempt to commit robbery carries rigorous imprisonment which may extend to seven years and a fine. Where the offender voluntarily causes hurt in committing robbery, a minimum of seven years applies.

Dacoity (Section 310): imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and a fine. Where any one of the group commits murder in the course of the dacoity, every member can be punished with death, imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment of not less than ten years, and a fine.

On classification, robbery and dacoity are cognizable and non-bailable offences. Robbery is generally triable by a Magistrate of the first class, and dacoity, being more serious, by a Court of Session.

05What changed from the old law

In substance, the robbery and dacoity offences are carried over from the IPC with the same ingredients and broadly the same punishments. The main change is renumbering and the folding of several old sections into two.

The procedure now runs under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and evidence is governed by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. A practitioner should use the new section numbers while continuing to rely on the large body of case law built under the old robbery and dacoity sections.

For related property offences in the new code, see Section 303 on theft, Section 304 on snatching, and Section 308 on extortion.

06Where 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.

Robbery and dacoity cases under Sections 309 and 310, and under the old sections, are charged and litigated in trial courts and Courts of Session across India. To run such a case you need to see how courts read force, fear, and group liability, and you need to track a matter that often moves through serious, lengthy proceedings. With Claw you can search 30 crore+ judgments and orders by section, party, or advocate, with results in under 5 seconds, and track live cases across 9,102 courts, benches, and tribunals, with automatic updates, cause lists, and WhatsApp and email alerts. See how case search works across Indian courts for more.

Claw does not file a case for you and does not replace legal advice. Claw does not use customer case documents to train AI models. There is a free plan for individual advocates. Create a FREE Claw account to search and track cases under this section by party or advocate name.

07Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of central Acts): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (the three new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Text of BNS Section 310: 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 of the sections and the BNSS First Schedule, and take advice from counsel, before you act.

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