Skip to content

Section 170 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023

Bribery.— (1) Whoever—

  • (i) gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right; or
  • (ii) accepts either for himself or for any other person any gratification as a reward for exercising any such right or for inducing or attempting to induce any other person to exercise any such right, commits the offence of bribery:

Provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action shall not be an offence under this section.

(2) A person who offers, or agrees to give, or offers or attempts to procure, a gratification shall be deemed to give a gratification.

(3) A person who obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain a gratification shall be deemed to accept a gratification, and a person who accepts a gratification as a motive for doing what he does not intend to do, or as a reward for doing what he has not done, shall be deemed to have accepted the gratification as a reward.

Varun Kumar Jha

Varun Kumar Jha is a Legal Researcher and the founder of LLB Varun. The content is written and reviewed by , a dedicated legal author with an LL.B. background from Karnataka State Law University (KSLU). 🌐 Connect: LinkedIn | Contact Editor.