Have you ever wondered what happens when someone tries to harm another person badly enough that death was a real possibility, but it wasn’t a cold, calculated murder plan? That’s a question Indian criminal law answers with surprising precision. Section 110 of BNS in Hindi is the exact provision that handles this grey zone and it’s more relevant than most people realize.
Most people confuse “attempt to murder” with “attempt to commit culpable homicide.” They sound alike. But legally, they’re completely different offences carrying different punishments. Section 110 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 carves out a specific space for acts done with a certain intention or knowledge where, had death followed, the crime would have been culpable homicide not amounting to murder. It’s a fine distinction, but the law draws it sharply.
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Section 110 of BNS in Hindi: गैर इरादतन हत्या करने का प्रयास
गैर इरादतन हत्या करने का प्रयास Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
धारा 110 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 reads as follows (in Hindi):
“जो कोई, किसी कार्य को ऐसे आशय या ज्ञान से और ऐसी परिस्थितियों में करता है कि यदि उस कार्य से वह मृत्यु कारित कर देता, तो वह हत्या की कोटि में न आने वाले आपराधिक मानव वध का दोषी होता, वह दोनों में से किसी भांति के कारावास से, जिसकी अवधि तीन वर्ष तक की हो सकेगी, या जुर्माने से, या दोनों से, दंडित किया जाएगा।”
In plain English if you do something with the intent or knowledge that, had it caused death, it would qualify as culpable homicide not amounting to murder, you’re liable under this section. Death doesn’t need to happen. The attempt itself is the crime.
The section further says that if the act actually causes hurt (उपहति) to any person, the punishment escalates significantly from 3 years to up to 7 years imprisonment, with fine, or both. That escalation matters. The law recognizes that physical injury makes the offence more serious, even if the victim survives.
BNS धारा 110 सजा का प्रावधान (Punishment Under Section 110)
Here’s how the punishment breaks down, cleanly:
| Situation | Maximum Punishment |
| Attempt without causing hurt | 3 years imprisonment + fine, or both |
| Attempt that causes hurt (उपहति) | 7 years imprisonment + fine, or both |
The imprisonment can be of either description meaning rigorous (कठोर) or simple (साधारण) at the court’s discretion. That flexibility isn’t an accident. It lets judges weigh the gravity of each specific situation rather than applying a blanket sentence.
What makes this section stand out is its dual threshold. You don’t need death. You don’t even need serious injury necessarily. Just the act, done with the right (wrong) kind of intention or knowledge, is enough to attract criminal liability. The law is essentially punishing the dangerous mental state combined with the dangerous act together.
Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder क्या फर्क है?
Before Section 110 makes full sense, you need to understand what “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” actually means. Think of it this way all murders are culpable homicides, but not all culpable homicides are murders. Murder involves a higher degree of intention. Culpable homicide not amounting to murder sits in a middle ground you caused death (or tried to), but under circumstances that reduce the gravity of the offence.
Classic examples include acts done under grave and sudden provocation (गंभीर और अचानक प्रकोपन), or in a sudden fight without premeditation, or where the person exceeded the right of private defence. These are circumstances where the law acknowledges human weakness heat of the moment, extreme provocation without fully excusing the act. Section 110 applies that same logic to attempts: the attempt is punishable, but the punishment acknowledges that this wasn’t cold-blooded murder.
धारा 110 का दृष्टांत (Illustration Explained)
The BNS itself provides an illustration, which is worth reading carefully. It says:
‘क’ गंभीर और अचानक प्रकोपन पर, ऐसी परिस्थितियों में ‘य’ पर पिस्तौल चलाता है कि यदि इसके द्वारा वह मृत्यु कारित कर देता, तो वह हत्या की कोटि में न आने वाले आपराधिक मानव वध का दोषी होता। ‘क’ ने इस धारा में परिभाषित अपराध किया है।
Let’s unpack this. ‘A’ fires a gun at ‘B’ under severe and sudden provocation. ‘B’ survives. Now had ‘B’ died, the crime would have been culpable homicide not amounting to murder (not murder, because of the provocation). Since ‘B’ didn’t die, Section 110 kicks in. The attempt itself becomes the offence.
This illustration is incredibly useful in practice. It tells us that provocation can reduce a murder attempt to a Section 110 offence, just like provocation can reduce actual murder to culpable homicide. The law applies consistently at both the “attempt” and “completion” stages.
Section 110 of BNS vs IPC Section 308 क्या बदला?
Section 110 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 is the direct successor to Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The core legal principle hasn’t changed the structure and punishment remain largely the same. However, BNS brings a cleaner, more organized framework. The language has been simplified and modernized to reduce ambiguity in interpretation.
Under IPC Section 308, the same offence attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder carried identical punishments: 3 years without hurt, 7 years with hurt. So if you’re a law student comparing the two, the substance is consistent. What’s different is the context: BNS as a whole replaces IPC, and Section 110 now sits within a new legislative architecture designed for contemporary India’s legal needs.
आपराधिक कानून में धारा 110 की अहमियत
From a practical standpoint, Section 110 fills a critical gap in आपराधिक कानून हिंदी jurisprudence. Without it, you’d have a strange vacuum a situation where attempting to murder someone is punishable, but attempting to commit culpable homicide is not. That would make no legal sense. This section closes that gap.
Courts use this section in cases involving sudden fights, domestic disputes that turn violent, road rage incidents, and situations where one person attacks another in a heated moment without a prior plan to kill. In these situations, proving “attempt to murder” under Section 109 BNS is harder because murder requires a higher degree of premeditation and intent. Section 110 gives prosecutors an alternative charge that better fits the facts on the ground.
Key Elements Prosecutors Must Prove साबित करने योग्य तत्व
For a conviction under Section 110, the prosecution needs to establish three things:
- The accused committed an act
- That act was done with the intent or knowledge that, had it caused death, it would amount to culpable homicide not amounting to murder
- Death did not occur (otherwise it becomes a completed offence under a different section)
If the act caused hurt, the more serious punishment applies. The word “hurt” here carries its legal definition from BNS it means bodily pain, disease, or infirmity caused to another person. Simple or grievous, any form of hurt pushes the case into the 7-year bracket.
FAQs
Section 110 of BNS in Hindi में “गैर इरादतन हत्या का प्रयास” का क्या मतलब है?
इसका मतलब है किसी व्यक्ति ने ऐसा कार्य किया जो, अगर मृत्यु कारित करता, तो हत्या की कोटि में न आने वाला आपराधिक मानव वध होता। मृत्यु नहीं हुई लेकिन प्रयास खुद एक अपराध है।
BNS Section 110 की अधिकतम सजा क्या है?
अगर कार्य से उपहति (hurt) हो जाए, तो 7 साल तक कारावास और जुर्माना। बिना उपहति के, अधिकतम 3 साल।
क्या Section 110 BNS और IPC Section 308 एक जैसे हैं?
हां, दोनों का उद्देश्य और सजा का ढांचा लगभग समान है। BNS ने IPC की जगह ली है, और Section 110 अब Section 308 की जगह कार्य करता है।
गंभीर और अचानक प्रकोपन” (grave and sudden provocation) इस धारा में कैसे लागू होता है?
अगर कोई व्यक्ति गंभीर प्रकोपन में आकर हमला करता है, तो यह “murder attempt” नहीं बल्कि Section 110 के अंतर्गत “culpable homicide attempt” बन सकता है क्योंकि प्रकोपन आशय की गंभीरता को कम कर देता है।
क्या Section 110 BNS के तहत जमानत मिल सकती है?
यह धारा cognizable है। जमानत मिलना न्यायालय के विवेक पर निर्भर है तथ्यों की गंभीरता, उपहति की प्रकृति, और परिस्थितियों के आधार पर निर्णय होता है।
Conclusion
Section 110 of BNS in Hindi is one of those provisions that quietly does a lot of heavy lifting in Indian criminal law. It bridges the gap between an uncompleted act and a completed crime, holding people accountable for dangerous behavior even when death doesn’t follow. Whether you’re a law student, a legal professional, or simply someone trying to understand their rights, this section matters.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 didn’t reinvent the wheel here it refined it. The principle behind Section 110 is old. But its placement in a modernized legal code gives it fresh relevance. Next time you read about a violent incident in the news where the victim survived, there’s a good chance Section 110 is somewhere in the charge sheet.
