Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 386
repealedExtortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt
Whoever commits extortion by putting any person in fear of death or of grievous hurt to that person or to any other, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Why this exists
This section increases the punishment for extortion when the threat used is especially severe, involving fear of death or grievous hurt, rather than a lesser injury. The law recognises that the terror caused by such extreme threats is far greater and more likely to compel compliance, so it deserves a correspondingly harsher punishment than ordinary extortion. This aggravated form of extortion continues under a similarly structured provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Indian Penal Code in 2024.