Section 103 BNS: Punishment for Murder

Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 prescribes the punishment for murder. It provides for death or imprisonment for life, together with liability to fine. Sub-section (2) separately deals with murder committed by a group of five or more persons acting in concert on specified identity-based or similar grounds.

Text of Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

What Section 103 BNS means

Section 103 is the punishment provision that follows the definition of murder under Section 101 BNS. Section 101 explains when culpable homicide amounts to murder and also sets out the statutory exceptions. Once the offence is murder, Section 103 provides the punishment.

The section has two parts. Sub-section (1) is the general punishment clause for murder. Sub-section (2) applies where five or more persons act in concert and commit murder on one of the grounds listed in that provision, including race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief, or another similar ground.

Punishment under Section 103(1)

Section 103(1) authorizes two principal punishments for murder: death or imprisonment for life. In either case, the offender is also liable to fine. The provision itself does not make death the automatic sentence in every murder case. The sentence is imposed by the competent court in accordance with the governing criminal procedure and sentencing law.

Section 103(2): Murder by a group of five or more persons

Section 103(2) applies when at least five persons act in concert and commit murder on one of the grounds specified in the provision. The statutory grounds include race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language and personal belief, followed by the wider phrase "any other similar ground."

Where the statutory conditions are satisfied, each member of the group is exposed to the punishment provided by Section 103(2): death or imprisonment for life, along with liability to fine. Whether a particular accused was a member of the group acting in concert and whether the murder was committed on a listed or similar ground are matters that must be established from the evidence in the case.

Difference between Sections 101 and 103 BNS

Section 101 BNS defines when culpable homicide amounts to murder and contains the exceptions under which culpable homicide does not amount to murder. Section 103 does not redefine murder; it provides the punishment after the offence is found to be murder.

Related provisions

Section 103 should be read with the surrounding provisions dealing with offences affecting life. These include Section 102, which deals with culpable homicide where a person other than the intended person dies; Section 104, which deals with murder by a life-convict; and Section 105, which prescribes punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Commencement of Section 103 BNS

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is Act 45 of 2023. The Central Government appointed July 1, 2024 as the commencement date for the provisions of the Sanhita, except Section 106(2). Section 103 is therefore in force from July 1, 2024.