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Section 91: Act Done with Intent to Prevent Child Being Born Alive

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita • Chapter V: Of Offences Against Women & Children • Official Statutory Text & Legal Guide

Chapter V: Of Offences Against Women & Children
Court of Session
Non-Bailable
Cognizable
Formerly Sec 315 IPC
Section 90 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 92

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 91

Section 91 penalizes any act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive or to cause it to die after its birth, prescribing imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, or fine, or both.

  • Pre-Natal Lethal Intent: The act is committed before the birth of any child, with intent to prevent the child from being born alive or causing it to die after birth.
  • Death of the Infant: The act prevents the child from being born alive, or causes it to die after its birth.
  • Exception: Saving Mother's Life: Excused ONLY if the act was done in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • State of Maharashtra v. Babulal (1997): Examined feticide and pre-natal attacks, affirming that Section 315 IPC (Section 91 BNS) penalizes deliberate physical strikes aimed at destroying the viable fetus.
  • Independent Thought v. Union of India (2017) 10 SCC 800: Highlighted state obligations to protect children from pre-natal and post-natal violence.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In violent domestic assaults on heavily pregnant women resulting in stillbirth, invoke Section 91 BNS alongside Section 117 (grievous hurt): medical records showing fetal distress and blunt abdominal trauma conclusively establish Section 91 guilt.

Section 90 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 92