If you are 18 or older
The main offences, how to report, and your right to a woman officer.
This page is being checked by a lawyer. Use it as general information for now.
Medical care, a police report and a trial are separate decisions, and each one is yours. You can get treated without reporting. You can report later. Nobody can make these choices for you.
Who this page covers
The rape and sexual harassment offences in the BNS protect women. If you are a man or a transgender person, the law gives you less, and that is a real gap. Other laws can still help: the laws on assault and threats, the IT Act for images shared online, and the Transgender Persons Act. Call the legal aid helpline on 15100 and ask what applies to you.
If you are under 18, the law is different and it protects everyone equally. Read the under-18 page.
The main offences
| What happened | What the law calls it | BNS section |
|---|---|---|
| Sex or any penetration without your consent | Rape | 63, 64 |
| Unwanted sexual touching, or force used with sexual intent | Assault to outrage modesty | 74 |
| Unwelcome touching or advances, asking for sexual favours, showing you pornography, sexual remarks | Sexual harassment | 75 |
| Forcing you to undress | Assault with intent to disrobe | 76 |
| Watching, photographing or filming you in a private moment, or sharing those images | Voyeurism | 77 |
| Following you or contacting you again and again after you have said no, or tracking what you do online | Stalking | 78 |
| Words, sounds or gestures meant to insult you sexually, or intruding on your privacy | Insulting modesty | 79 |
Consent means clearly and freely agreeing. The law says that not fighting back is not consent. Consent cannot be given by someone who is asleep, unconscious, too drunk to understand, or threatened.
Reporting to the police: FIR and Zero FIR
An FIR (First Information Report) is the written police record that starts an investigation.
- You can file it at any police station, wherever it happened. This is called a Zero FIR. The police pass it to the right station afterwards
- You get a free copy
- There is no time limit for reporting rape. Some less serious offences do have time limits, so speak to a lawyer early
- If the police refuse to register it, you can write to the Superintendent of Police. If that does not work, you can go to a Magistrate. Free legal aid can help you do both. For rape and most of the offences above, an officer who refuses to record your complaint is committing an offence
Your right to a woman officer
- Your complaint about any of these offences must be written down by a woman police officer
- If you are reporting rape, your statement is recorded at your home or a place you choose, by a woman officer as far as possible. A parent, relative or social worker can be with you
- The police cannot make a woman come to a police station to be questioned. They must come to where she lives
- A Magistrate will also record your statement, in private, without the accused present
At the hospital and in court
Free treatment, your consent at every step, a closed court hearing and a ban on publishing your name are covered on the Rights for everyone page.
Where this comes from
For lawyers and counsellors checking this page.
| Point | Source |
|---|---|
| Offences | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, ss. 63, 64, 74 to 79 |
| Not resisting is not consent | BNS s. 63, Explanation 2 |
| FIR at any station, free copy, woman officer records it | Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, s. 173 |
| Refusal to record is an offence (for ss. 64 to 71, 74, 76, 77, 79) | BNS s. 199(c) |
| Writing to the Superintendent; going to a Magistrate | BNSS ss. 173(4), 175(3) |
| Statement at home or chosen place | BNSS s. 176(1) |
| Women not called to the station | BNSS s. 179(1) |
| Magistrate records statement | BNSS s. 183(6) |
| No limitation period for serious offences | BNSS s. 514 |
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