Section 354 BNS: Act Caused by Inducing Belief of Divine Displeasure
Section 354 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 punishes a person who voluntarily causes or attempts to cause another person to do something that person is not legally bound to do, or to omit something that person is legally entitled to do, by inducing a belief that Divine displeasure will otherwise follow.
What does Section 354 BNS mean?
The section deals with a particular form of coercive influence. The accused must voluntarily cause or attempt to cause another person to act, or refrain from acting, by inducing or attempting to induce a belief that the person or someone in whom that person is interested will become an object of Divine displeasure.
The provision protects a person's legal freedom of choice. It applies where the object is to make the person do something that the person is not legally bound to do, or omit something that the person is legally entitled to do.
Section 354 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
354. Whoever voluntarily causes or attempts to cause any person to do anything which that person is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do anything which he is legally entitled to do, by inducing or attempting to induce that person to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered by some act of the offender an object of Divine displeasure if he does not do the thing which it is the object of the offender to cause him to do, or if he does the thing which it is the object of the offender to cause him to omit, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
Illustrations.
(a) A sits dharna at Z's door with the intention of causing it to be believed that, by so sitting, he renders Z an object of Divine displeasure. A has committed the offence defined in this section.
(b) A threatens Z that, unless Z performs a certain act, A will kill one of A's own children, under such circumstances that the killing would be believed to render Z an object of Divine displeasure. A has committed the offence defined in this section.
Essential ingredients of Section 354 BNS
- The accused voluntarily causes or attempts to cause another person to act or omit to act.
- The act sought to be compelled is one the person is not legally bound to do, or the omission sought is of something the person is legally entitled to do.
- The means used is inducing or attempting to induce a belief of Divine displeasure.
- The threatened Divine displeasure may concern the person directly or another person in whom that person is interested.
- The belief must be connected with the person's refusal to do the demanded act or decision to do the act the offender seeks to prevent.
Illustrations under Section 354
The statutory illustrations show that the offence is concerned with the use of a belief in Divine displeasure as a means of compelling conduct. The first illustration refers to a dharna used for that purpose. The second concerns a threat involving the offender's own child where the threatened consequence is intended to be understood as rendering the other person an object of Divine displeasure.
The illustrations do not replace the statutory ingredients. In every case, the prosecution must establish the conduct, purpose and inducement required by the section.
Punishment and BNSS classification
| Provision | Maximum punishment | Cognizability | Bail | Trial court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 354 BNS | Imprisonment of either description up to 1 year, or fine, or both | Non-cognizable | Bailable | Any Magistrate |
The procedural classification above follows the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Compounding of the offence under BNSS
The BNSS compounding provisions list the offence of inducing a person to believe himself an object of Divine displeasure under Section 354 as compoundable by the person induced. This means the person specified by the statute may compound the offence in accordance with the applicable BNSS procedure.