IPC 376 vs BNS 64: Rape Punishment — Chapter V Priority & New Trial Rules (2024)

IPC Section 376 governed rape punishment for over 160 years. The BNS restructures this as Section 64, with the definition now in Section 63. The most significant structural change is placement: rape law is now in Chapter V, the earliest substantive chapter in the code, explicitly prioritising offences against women and children. The 2013 Criminal Law Amendment Act's reforms — 10-year mandatory minimum, expanded definition of rape, explicit consent framework — are all preserved and constitutionally entrenched. New additions include the mandate for trial by a woman Sessions Judge or Magistrate wherever possible, responding to documented evidence that rape victims are more likely to testify and be believed before women judges. The death penalty category — rape resulting in the victim's death or a persistent vegetative state — is codified as a specific sub-provision (building on the Nirbhaya case outcome). Aggravated rape by persons in authority (police, public servants, hospital staff, relatives) continues to carry 10 years to Life as a mandatory minimum.