BACK TO SECTIONSAIR 1965 SC 942
Non-BailableCognizable: CognizableCourt of Session
Reform Highlights
1
Renumbered from IPC 360 to BNS 87.
2
Substantive law unchanged — cross-border removal without valid consent.
3
Operates alongside anti-trafficking provisions in BNS.
THE STATUTE
The Clause
Whoever conveys any person beyond the limits of India without the consent of that person, or of some person legally authorised to consent on behalf of that person, is said to kidnap that person from India.
Legal Commentary
Section 87 creates the specific offence of kidnapping a person from the territory of India — transporting them across international borders without their consent. This is distinct from kidnapping from lawful guardianship (Section 88), which involves removing a minor from a parent or guardian's care within India. The defining element is consent — or its absence. If a minor is taken abroad even by a parent without the consent of the other parent who has lawful guardianship, it may constitute kidnapping. The section is frequently invoked in international parental child abduction cases, where one parent takes a child to another country without court permission. India is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, making BNS 87 a critical domestic tool. Human traffickers who move victims across borders — into the Gulf states, Southeast Asia, or elsewhere for forced labour or sexual exploitation — are prosecuted under this section alongside anti-trafficking provisions.
Landmark Precedents
S. Varadarajan v. State of Madras (1965)
RELEVANCE
Distinguished abduction from kidnapping — a minor who goes entirely of their own free will without any enticement may not constitute abduction under BNS 87/88.
Case Simulations
"A trafficker who deceives a young woman with a false job offer and transports her to the UAE — kidnapping from India under BNS 87."
"A parent who takes a child to the USA against a family court's custody order — kidnapping from India."
"A couple who voluntarily emigrate to Canada — not kidnapping; both consented."
Expert Insights
If both parents have lawful guardianship and one removes the child from India without the other's consent or a court order, it may constitute kidnapping from India under BNS 87. Courts are increasingly stringent about cross-border child removal in custody disputes.