Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Section 119
Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort property, or to constrain to an illegal
(1) Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer, or from any person interested in the sufferer, any property or valuable security, or of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in such sufferer to do anything which is illegal or which may facilitate the commission of an offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) Whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for any purpose referred to in sub-section (1), shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Why this exists
This provision continues the logic of the old Indian Penal Code (Sections 327 and 329), which recognized that extortion or coercion becomes far more dangerous when physical violence is used as the tool. Ordinary extortion (through threats) is punished separately; this section specifically targets cases where actual bodily harm is inflicted to force compliance, treating it as a more serious offence because it combines two wrongs — violence and coercion.
How courts read it
Under the earlier IPC provisions (Sections 327 and 329), courts consistently held that the prosecution must prove both the act of causing hurt or grievous hurt AND the specific illegal purpose (extortion or forcing illegal conduct) behind it. Courts have clarified that mere hurt without proof of this extortive or coercive intent falls under ordinary hurt provisions, not this special one. Judgments have also distinguished 'hurt' from 'grievous hurt' based on medical evidence, affecting which sub-section and punishment applies.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: This law only applies if property was actually taken.
Fact: The law applies even if the extortion attempt fails — the crime is in causing hurt *for the purpose* of extortion, not in successfully getting the property. - Myth: Any hurt during a robbery or fight counts under this law.
Fact: Courts require proof that the hurt was specifically intended to extort property or force illegal conduct — hurt caused during an unrelated fight or accident doesn't qualify.