Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter V: Of Offences against Woman and Child · Of sexual offences
Section 71: Punishment for repeat offenders
In plain words
A person previously convicted of rape under section 64, 65, 66 or 70 who is convicted again under any of those sections faces imprisonment for life, meaning the rest of their natural life, or death.
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.
Official text
Whoever has been previously convicted of an offence punishable under section 64 or section 65 or section 66 or section 70 and is subsequently convicted of an offence punishable under any of the said sections shall be punished with imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death.
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.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 71
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Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr.
Issue arose as to whether the usage of electronic communication can also be extended to the procedure governing the service of a notice, contemplated u/s.35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.