Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XVI: Of Offences Relating to Religion
Section 299: Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs
In plain words
Insulting, or trying to insult, the religion or religious beliefs of any group of Indian citizens, with the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging their religious feelings, by words, signs, images, electronic means or otherwise, is punishable with up to three years in prison, or a fine, or both.
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
Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or through electronic means or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
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 299 carries forward section 295A of the IPC: deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs, now expressly including electronic means.
Key points
- Only insults made with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging religious feelings of a class are punished.
- Careless or unwitting insults are not covered.
- Complaints are quashed where the material, read as a whole, shows no such intent.
Key Supreme Court rulings
Ramji Lal Modi v. State of U.P. AIR 1957 SC 620
Decided on section 295A of the IPC. The provision is valid because it punishes only the aggravated form of insult committed with deliberate and malicious intention.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni v. Yerraguntla Shyamsundar 2017 INSC 1282
Not every insult to religion is punishable; without deliberate and malicious intention the complaint was quashed.
Common mistakes
- Treating any hurt to religious sentiment as an offence.
Read with: Section 196 BNS, Section 295A 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 299
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Imran Pratapgadhi v. State Of Gujarat and Anr.
Whether on facts, the offences punishable under Sections 196, 197, 299 and 302 of the BNS as alleged, were made out against the appellant, a Member of Rajya Sabha; whether the High Court erred in rejecting the petition…