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Section 116: Grievous Hurt

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita • Chapter VI: Of Offences Affecting the Human Body • Official Statutory Text & Legal Guide

Chapter VI: Of Offences Affecting the Human Body
Magistrate 1st Class / Session
Bailable (Sec 117-2) / Non-Bailable (Sec 117-3/4)
Cognizable
Formerly Sec 320 IPC
Section 115 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 117

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 116

Section 116 provides the exhaustive statutory definition of 'Grievous Hurt', designating only eight specific categories of grave bodily injuries as grievous in the eyes of the law.

  • Eight Exhaustive Categories: Designates strictly: (1) Emasculation, (2) Permanent privation of sight of either eye, (3) Permanent privation of hearing of either ear, (4) Privation of any member or joint, (5) Destruction or permanent impairing of powers of any member or joint, (6) Permanent disfiguration of the head or face, (7) Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth, and (8) Any hurt endangering life or causing the victim to be in severe bodily pain or unable to follow ordinary pursuits for twenty days.
  • Strict Legal Classification: Any injury, however severe, that does not fit within these eight clauses is legally simple hurt, NOT grievous hurt.
  • Twenty-Day Rule Mandate: Clause 8 requires proof of continuous inability to follow ordinary pursuits for twenty consecutive days.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • State of Karnataka v. Bapu (2001) 9 SCC 245: The Supreme Court held that the eight clauses of grievous hurt under Section 320 IPC (Section 116 BNS) are exhaustive; in the absence of radiological proof of bone fracture or 20-day incapacitation, an injury cannot be labelled grievous.
  • Ramla v. State of Rajasthan (1993) Supp (2) SCC 174: Affirmed that a crack or chipping of a bone is a fracture, but soft tissue swelling without bony disruption is simple hurt.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Cross-examine the radiologist on X-ray plates: if the X-ray was not produced in court or shows no cortical break, or if the radiologist cannot state which bone was fractured, the injury fails Clause 7 of Section 116 BNS and must be downgraded to simple hurt.

Section 115 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 117