Offences against the State

On Republic Day you watch the parade at Kartavya Path and nobody thinks about who is protecting the country from a different kind of attack: one made of armed men, secessionist speeches or a conspiracy to overawe a government. Ordinary crimes injure a person or a person's property. The offences in this topic injure the State itself. Which acts count as an attack on India, how much planning is enough, and where does a citizen's right to criticise the government stop?

In two minutes

Chapter VII of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (ss.147–158, replacing the IPC's chapter on offences against the State) punishes waging war against India, conspiring or preparing for it, attacking the President or a Governor, acts endangering India's sovereignty, unity and integrity (s.152), and helping State prisoners escape.

The rest of this chapter

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