This section is still actively used to punish modern violent criminals called 'thugs.'

This provision applied only to the specific historical 'thug' gangs defined in Section 310 and has since been removed from India's current criminal code.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 311

repealed

Punishment

Whoever is a thug, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.§

Why this exists

This section prescribed the punishment for the offence of being a 'thug' defined in Section 310, part of the colonial legal campaign in the 19th century to eliminate organized gangs that murdered and robbed travelers across India. Like Section 310, it is a historical artifact rarely, if ever, invoked in modern courts, since such organized killing networks in that specific form no longer exist, and modern law instead uses provisions on murder, conspiracy, and organized crime. This section has been omitted in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Common misconceptions

Myth: This section is still actively used to punish modern violent criminals called 'thugs.'
Fact: This provision applied only to the specific historical 'thug' gangs defined in Section 310 and has since been removed from India's current criminal code.