Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter III: General Exceptions
Section 25: Act not intended and not known to be likely to cause death or grievous hurt, done by consent
In plain words
Harm caused to a consenting adult (above eighteen years of age) is not an offence, as long as the act was not intended, or known to be likely, to cause death or grievous hurt.
- Consent can be express or implied.
- It also covers the risk of harm that the person agreed to take.
Example: A and Z fence with each other for fun. If A, playing fairly, hurts Z, A commits no offence, because both accepted that risk.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓
Official text
Nothing which is not intended to cause death, or grievous hurt, and which is not known by the doer to be likely to cause death or grievous hurt, is an offence by reason of any harm which it may cause, or be intended by the doer to cause, to any person, above eighteen years of age, who has given consent, whether express or implied, to suffer that harm; or by reason of any harm which it may be known by the doer to be likely to cause to any such person who has consented to take the risk of that harm..
Illustration
A and Z agree to fence with each other for amusement. This agreement implies the consent of each to suffer any harm which, in the course of such fencing, may be caused without foul play; and if A, while playing fairly, hurts Z, A commits no offence.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Understanding this section
Section 25 carries forward section 87 of the IPC: acts not intended, and not known to be likely, to cause death or grievous hurt, done with the consent of a person above eighteen who agrees to suffer or risk that harm.
Key points
- Consent may be express or implied, as in contact sports.
- It covers only harm within the risk accepted.
- It never covers intended or knowingly likely death or grievous hurt.
- Section 29 excludes acts that are offences independently of harm.
Common mistakes
- Treating consent as a defence to serious violence.
Read with: Section 26 BNS, Section 29 BNS, Section 87 IPC
Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 25
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.