Offence checker: Chapter XIX, Of criminal intimidation, insult, annoyance, defamation, etc.
Section 356, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Defamation against the President or the Vice-President or the Governor of a State or Administrator of a Union territory or a Minister in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his public functions when instituted upon a complaint made by the Public Prosecutor.
Section 356(2)
Non-cognizable Bailable Compoundable: see s.359 rows
- Offence
- “Defamation against the President or the Vice-President or the Governor of a State or Administrator of a Union territory or a Minister in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his public functions when instituted upon a complaint made by the Public Prosecutor.”
- Punishment
- “Simple imprisonment for 2 years, or fine or both, or community service.”
- Cognisable
- “Non-cognizable.”
- Bailable
- “Bailable.”
- Triable by
- “Court of Session.”
- Compoundable
-
- Yes, by “The person defamed.”
- Yes, with the permission of the Court before which the prosecution is pending, by “The person defamed.”
- Source
- BNSS First Schedule, Gazette page 188
Section 356(2)
Non-cognizable Bailable Compoundable: see s.359 rows
- Offence
- “Defamation in any other case.”
- Punishment
- “Simple imprisonment for 2 years, or fine or both, or community service.”
- Cognisable
- “Non-cognizable.”
- Bailable
- “Bailable.”
- Triable by
- “Magistrate of the first class.”
- Compoundable
-
- Yes, by “The person defamed.”
- Yes, with the permission of the Court before which the prosecution is pending, by “The person defamed.”
- Source
- BNSS First Schedule, Gazette page 188
- This row continues the section above it in the Schedule (a further case of the same section); the Schedule does not repeat the section number.
Section 356(3)
Non-cognizable Bailable Compoundable
- Offence
- “Printing or engraving matter knowing it to be defamatory against the President or the Vice-President or the Governor of a State or Administrator of a Union territory or a Minister in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his public functions when instituted upon a complaint made by the Public Prosecutor.”
- Punishment
- “Simple imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both.”
- Cognisable
- “Non-cognizable.”
- Bailable
- “Bailable.”
- Triable by
- “Court of Session.”
- Compoundable
-
- Yes, by “The person defamed.”
- Source
- BNSS First Schedule, Gazette page 189
Section 356(3)
Non-cognizable Bailable Compoundable
- Offence
- “Printing or engraving matter knowing it to be defamatory, in any other case.”
- Punishment
- “Simple imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both.”
- Cognisable
- “Non-cognizable.”
- Bailable
- “Bailable.”
- Triable by
- “Magistrate of the first class.”
- Compoundable
-
- Yes, by “The person defamed.”
- Source
- BNSS First Schedule, Gazette page 189
- This row continues the section above it in the Schedule (a further case of the same section); the Schedule does not repeat the section number.
Section 356(4)
Non-cognizable Bailable Compoundable
- Offence
- “Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter, knowing it to contain such matter against the President or the Vice-President or the Governor of a State or Administrator of a Union territory or a Minister in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his public functions when instituted upon a complaint made by the Public Prosecutor.”
- Punishment
- “Simple imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both.”
- Cognisable
- “Non-cognizable.”
- Bailable
- “Bailable.”
- Triable by
- “Court of Session.”
- Compoundable
-
- Yes, by “The person defamed.”
- Source
- BNSS First Schedule, Gazette page 189
Section 356(4)
Non-cognizable Bailable Compoundable
- Offence
- “Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter, knowing it to contain such matter in any other case.”
- Punishment
- “Simple imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both.”
- Cognisable
- “Non-cognizable.”
- Bailable
- “Bailable.”
- Triable by
- “Magistrate of the first class.”
- Compoundable
-
- Yes, by “The person defamed.”
- Source
- BNSS First Schedule, Gazette page 189
- This row continues the section above it in the Schedule (a further case of the same section); the Schedule does not repeat the section number.
IPC equivalent
| BNS | IPC section | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 356(1) | 499 | same |
| 356(2) | 500 | changed |
| 356(3) | 501 | same |
| 356(4) | 502 | same |
- More than one IPC section corresponds to this section; each is listed against its part.
About compounding (section 359)
Section 359(1): “The offences punishable under the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 specified in the first two columns of the Table next following may be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of that Table”. Section 359(2): “The offences punishable under the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 specified in the first two columns of the Table next following may, with the permission of the Court before which any prosecution for such offence is pending, be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of that Table”.
Section 359(3): “When an offence is compoundable under this section, the abetment of such offence or an attempt to commit such offence (when such attempt is itself an offence) or where the accused is liable under sub-section (5) of section 3 or section 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, may be compounded in like manner.”
Section 359(7): “No offence shall be compounded if the accused is, by reason of a previous conviction, liable either to enhanced punishment or to a punishment of a different kind for such offence.”
Section 359(9): “No offence shall be compounded except as provided by this section.”
Source
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (No. 46 of 2023), Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1, No. 54, 25 December 2023: First Schedule, pages 158-189; section 359 Tables, pages 108-111. Copy from the e-Gazette, https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/2023/250884.pdf (retrieved 2026-10-28). Chapters from The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (No. 45 of 2023), Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1, No. 53, 25 December 2023, https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/2023/250883.pdf. IPC equivalents from the Bureau of Police Research and Development (Ministry of Home Affairs), correspondence table BNS to IPC, as read by the statute map (SCRUM-185), https://bprd.mha.gov.in/uploads/pdf/COMPARISON%20SUMMARY%20BNS%20to%20IPC%20.pdf.
The Schedule's words are shown as printed, joined across lines. The Schedule's own note: “(1) In regard to offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the entries in the second and third columns against a section the number of which is given in the first column are not intended as the definition of, and the punishment prescribed for, the offence in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, but merely as indication of the substance of the section.” (2) In this Schedule, (i) the expression "Magistrate of the first class" and "any Magistrate" does not include Executive Magistrates; (ii) the word "cognizable" stands for "a police officer may arrest without warrant"; and (iii) the word "non-cognizable" stands for "a police officer shall not arrest without warrant".
Not legal advice. This is the First Schedule and section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 as published in the Gazette of India on 25 December 2023, not legal advice. We have not checked later amendments, State amendments or notifications, or how courts have read these entries. Check the Act before you rely on it.