Section 377 and the BNS: What Happened to Unnatural Offences (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which dealt with so-called unnatural offences, has no equivalent in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the code that replaced the IPC on 1 July 2024. There is no "Section 377 in the BNS". After the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar (2018) read down the part of Section 377 that criminalised consensual acts between adults, the section survived only for non-consensual acts, acts against minors and bestiality. The BNS did not carry forward that remaining part, which courts and commentators have flagged as a gap. This explainer sets out what Section 377 did, why it was dropped, the gap this created, and what the courts have said. Last verified October 2026.

01What Section 377 of the IPC did

Section 377 of the IPC punished so-called unnatural offences, described in the old language as carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal. For a long time it was used to criminalise consensual same-sex relations between adults.

That changed with the Supreme Court decision in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018). The Court held that Section 377 was unconstitutional insofar as it criminalised consensual sexual acts between adults in private. It did not strike the section down fully. Section 377 continued to apply to non-consensual acts, to acts against minors, and to bestiality.

02The old-to-new position

Unlike most IPC sections, Section 377 does not map to a new BNS number, because it was not re-enacted.

So the honest answer to "section 377 in bns" is that there is none. The rape provisions of the BNS are gender-specific, protecting a woman, and the POCSO Act continues to protect children, but there is no general provision matching the non-consensual part of the old Section 377. For the rape provisions see our explainer on rape under the BNS (Sections 63 and 64).

03The gap and what the courts have said

Dropping the remaining part of Section 377 left a visible gap. There is no clear general provision to charge a non-consensual unnatural act against an adult man or a transgender person, or an act of bestiality, under the BNS.

This has reached the courts. The Supreme Court declined to entertain a public interest petition challenging the exclusion of unnatural offences from the BNS, taking the view that this is a matter for the legislature. The Delhi High Court separately flagged the gap and asked the Central Government to take a decision on whether a Section 377 type provision should be included, while holding that a court cannot itself create a new offence.

The honest answer to "is 377 still a law" is that its consensual part was struck down in 2018, and the rest was simply not carried into the BNS, leaving a gap the courts have asked the legislature to consider.

04What this means in practice

A few practical points follow for anyone advising on this area.

• There is no BNS section number for 377. Do not cite a BNS equivalent, because none exists.
• Conduct against women and children is still covered. Rape of a woman is dealt with by Sections 63 and 64 of the BNS, and offences against children by the POCSO Act.
• The gap is on non-consensual acts against adult men and transgender persons, and on bestiality. How such cases are charged in the meantime depends on the facts and the available provisions, and is contested, so take advice.

Because this is an evolving area, check the latest position before advising. For the overview of the new codes see the new criminal laws (BNS, BNSS and BSA).

05Where 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.

Because the position on Section 377 and the BNS is still moving through the courts, it helps to follow the cases as they are decided. 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 find how courts have treated the old Section 377 and follow new petitions on the gap. 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 the full picture, see case search across Indian courts.

06Sources and further reading

• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• India Code (official bare text of the BNS): indiacode.nic.in
• Supreme Court declines PIL on exclusion of unnatural offences: barandbench.com
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law in this area is unsettled and may change, so check the current position and take advice from counsel on your facts.

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