Question

Under which specific provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, has the definition of a 'Terrorist Act' been formally integrated into India's general penal legislation for the first time?

• A. Section 113
• B. Section 152
• C. Section 109
• D. Section 121

Hint:

Remember the sequence in BNS: Section 109 = Organized Crime, Section 111 = Petty Organized Crime, Section 113 = Terrorist Act. These are frequently tested provisions.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

To resolve this, it helps to look at where each numbered section actually sits within the structure of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and what offence each one is built to punish.

1. Section 113: This carries its own defined offence of "terrorist act," complete with the specific intents, threatening India's unity, integrity, sovereignty, security or economic security, or striking terror in the public, and the specific means, explosive substances, firearms and similar weapons, that make an act qualify as terrorism. It stands as a self-contained offence rather than a cross-reference to another statute, which is exactly what being "formally integrated for the first time" requires.
2. Section 152: This punishes acts against the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India of a different character, without carrying a definition clause for "terrorist act."
3. Section 109: This is the organised crime provision, targeting syndicates engaged in continuing unlawful activity for gain, a related but separately defined offence.
4. Section 121: This section has no connection to the ingredients of a terrorist act as newly defined in the Sanhita.

Since only Section 113 supplies the actual definition and punishment structure for a terrorist act within the general code, that is the provision being asked for.

The correct answer is Section 113.

Answer 2

Before naming the section, it helps to recall why this question matters: earlier, "terrorist act" as a defined offence existed only in special legislation, most notably the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and was absent from the general penal code applied in ordinary criminal trials. The task is to find exactly where the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita changed this.

1. Section 113: This is the newly added provision defining a terrorist act by its intent (to threaten India's unity, integrity, sovereignty, security or economic security, or to strike terror among people) and by its means (bombs, explosive or inflammable substances, firearms or other lethal weapons, noxious gases, or biological or chemical substances), along with graded punishment depending on the consequences. Because this now sits directly in the general penal statute, it satisfies the requirement of being formally integrated for the first time.
2. Section 152: This punishes secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, and acts endangering sovereignty and unity, essentially modernising the erstwhile sedition-adjacent law. It shares the same protective concern as terrorism law but rests on separate ingredients and was not the section that introduced a terrorist-act definition.
3. Section 109: This defines organised crime, punishing syndicate members who commit offences like kidnapping, extortion or cyber-crime for material benefit. This too is new to the general code, but it answers a different mischief than terrorism.
4. Section 121: This provision has no connection at all to the intent-and-means test used to define a terrorist act, so it can be set aside entirely.

Since the codification of a stand-alone, general-code definition of "terrorist act," with its own intents, means and punishment scale, happened in one specific section, that is the answer being sought.

The correct answer is Section 113.