BACK TO SECTIONSAIR 1965 SC 942AIR 1973 SC 819
N/ACognizable: N/AN/A
Reform Highlights
1
Renumbered from IPC 362 to BNS 138.
2
Definition unchanged — force or deceit to cause movement from any place.
3
Applies to adults (unlike kidnapping from guardianship which is limited to minors).
4
'Deceitful means' broad enough to cover digital luring and fraudulent inducements.
THE STATUTE
The Clause
Whoever by force compels, or by any deceitful means induces, any person to go from any place, is said to abduct that person.
Legal Commentary
Section 138 defines abduction — a building-block provision whose significance lies not in its own punishment (there is none) but in what it enables when combined with a criminal purpose. Abduction is the act of compelling or inducing a person to move from one place to another using either force or deceit. Two routes to abduction exist: force (compulsion by physical power, threats, or coercion) and deceitful means (false pretences, fabricated stories, fraudulent inducements). The critical distinction between abduction and kidnapping is that abduction applies to persons of any age, while kidnapping from lawful guardianship (Section 88) is specifically limited to minors. An adult can be abducted but cannot be kidnapped from guardianship. Abduction is therefore a more versatile provision — it is the definitional underpinning for the entire series of purpose-based offences that follow: abduction to murder (Section 128), abduction for ransom (Section 129), abduction to grievously hurt (Section 130), abduction to subject to slavery or unnatural offences (Section 131), abduction to compel marriage (Section 139). Each of these attaches a criminal purpose to the core act of abduction, creating the full offence. Without the purpose, abduction itself is not a standalone punishable offence. The breadth of 'deceitful means' is particularly important in the contemporary context: luring someone with a false promise, a fake job offer, or a manufactured emergency are all abductions once the person is induced to move. Trafficking begins with abduction in this sense — the false recruitment pitch that moves a victim from their village is an act of abduction.
Landmark Precedents
S. Varadarajan v. State of Madras (1965)
RELEVANCE
Supreme Court distinguished between a minor who 'goes with' someone of their own free will vs. being 'taken' — establishing that the victim's voluntary movement in response to inducement is still abduction if deceitful means were used.
State of Haryana v. Raja Ram (1973)
RELEVANCE
Clarified that 'deceitful means' includes any representation that creates a false belief in the victim's mind — a false promise of employment, a fabricated emergency, or any misrepresentation that induces movement qualifies.
Case Simulations
"A trafficker who tells a young woman he is a legitimate employment agent and drives her to a city — abduction by deceitful means."
"A kidnapper who grabs a businessman and pushes him into a van — abduction by force."
"A man who tells a woman there is an emergency at her home and accompanies her from a party with intent to assault her — abduction by deceit."
"A couple whose elopement is entirely voluntary — no abduction; the woman was not compelled or deceived into going."
Expert Insights
Yes — inducing movement through deceitful means (false job offer) is abduction under Section 138. Whether a complete offence is committed depends on the purpose: if the purpose is trafficking into forced labour or sexual exploitation, the full trafficking and abduction-purpose offences apply.
Abduction (Section 138) applies to any person regardless of age. Kidnapping from lawful guardianship (Section 88) is specifically for minors under 16 (boys) or 18 (girls). An adult who is forcibly moved from a place has been abducted, not kidnapped in the Section 88 sense.
No — any compelled or induced movement from any place to any other is sufficient. Moving someone from one room of a house to another by force or deceit can constitute abduction if done for a criminal purpose. There is no minimum distance requirement.