IPC §125BNS §153

Waging war against any Asiatic power in alliance with the Government of India

ModifiedConfidence: mediumStatus: cross checkedscope drift(observed)
Last updated 2026-05-01 · Input coverage: full

Compiled by AI-assisted tools. Text verified against official sources where indicated. Field-level labels (AI-indicated / AI-inferred / Text-verified) apply per edge metadata. Verify current bail/cognizable status against official sources before relying on procedural claims. Last updated: 2026-04-28.

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Comparison

Old law
IPC §125
Waging war against any Asiatic power in alliance with the Government of India

125. Waging war against any Asiatic Power in alliance with the Government of India.— Whoever wages war against the Government of any Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with the 3[Government of India] or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with 1[imprisonment for life], to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine. 1. Subs. by Act 26 of 1955, s. 117 and the Sch., for “transportation for life” (w.e.f. 1-1-1956). 2. Subs. by Act 16 of 1921, s. 2, for “and shall forfeit all his property”. 3. Subs. by the A. O 1950, for “Queen”. 4. Subs. by the ibid., for “Governor General”. 5. Subs. by Act 3 of 1951, s. 3 and the Sch., for “Governor”. 6. The words “or Rajpramukh” omitted by the A. O. 1956. 7. Subs. by the A. O. 1950, for “Province” which had been subs. by the A. O. 1937, for “Presidency”. 8. The words “or a Lieutenant-Governor” omitted by the A. O. 1937. 9. The words “or a Member of the Council of the Governor General of India” omitted by the A.O. 1948. 10. The words “or of the Council of any Presidency” omitted by the A. O. 1937. 11. The words “Governor General, Governor, Lieutenant-Governor or Member of Council” have successively been amended by the A.O. 1937, the A. O. 1948 and the A. O. 1950 to read as above. 12. Ins. by Act 27 of 1870, s. 5 and subs. by Act 4 of 1898, s. 4, for s. 124A. 13. The words “Her Majesty or” omitted by the A.O. 1950. The words “or the Crown Representative” ins. after the word “Majesty” by the A. O. 1937 were omitted by the A. O. 1948. 14. The words “British India” have successively been subs. by the A. O. 1948, the A. O. 1950 and Act 3 of 1951, s. 3 and the Sch., to read as above. 15. The words “or British Burma” ins. by the A. O. 1937 and omitted by the A. O 1948. 16. Subs. by Act 26 of 1955, s. 117 and the Sch., for “transportation for life or any shorter term” (w.e.f. 1-1-1956).

New law
BNS §153
Waging war against Government of any foreign State at peace with Government of India

Whoever wages war against the Government of any foreign State at peace with the Government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

What changedAI-inferred

BNS 153 is a substantive scope expansion of IPC 125. IPC 125 protected only the Government of any 'Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India' — a colonial-era restriction reflecting British India's regional treaty geography. BNS 153 protects the Government of 'any foreign State at peace with the Government of India', removing both the geographic restriction (Asiatic) and the alliance qualifier (the simpler 'at peace' threshold replaces 'in alliance or at peace'). The actus reus (waging war, attempting to wage war, abetting the waging of war) and the punishment structure (imprisonment for life with fine, or up to seven years with fine, or fine) are character-identical to IPC 125.

Old position

IPC 125 is concerned with Waging war against any Asiatic power in alliance with the Government of India. Waging war against any Asiatic Power in alliance with the Government of India

New position

BNS 153 modifies the framework. Topic: Waging war against Government of any foreign State at peace with Government of India. Whoever wages war against the Government of any foreign State at peace with the Government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or

BNS 153 is a substantive scope expansion of IPC 125. IPC 125 protected only the Government of any 'Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India' — a colonial-era restriction reflecting British India's regional treaty geography. BNS 153 protects the Government of 'any foreign...

Editorial deltaAI-indicated (source-linked)

BNS 153 carries forward IPC 125's framework for criminalising waging war against a foreign state at peace with India. The visible operative delta is the expansion of subject scope: from any Asiatic Power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India (IPC 125) to any foreign State at peace with the Government of India (BNS 153). The 'Asiatic Power' regional limitation is dropped, and the 'in alliance' qualifier is dropped. Punishment levels are preserved.

Transitional note (repeal & savings)

For matters initiated before 1 July 2024, IPC 125 continues to apply. For matters from that date forward, BNS 153 applies. The transition is governed by the repeal-and-savings clause in the new code (BNS 358 / BNSS 531 / BSA 170 as the case may be); pending proceedings under the old code carry forward unaffected.

Frequently asked

BNS 153 (Waging war against Government of any foreign State at peace with Government of India). The relationship is classified as modified — see the change-note above for the textual delta.

Sources

Cite this page

Newlaws.in, IPC §125 → BNS §153 Mapping Page, last updated 2026-05-01, accessed 2026-06-14, https://newlaws.in/ipc/125.

Compiled using AI-assisted tools · Source-linked · Last updated 2026-05-01

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