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Section 93: Exposure and Abandonment of Child Under Twelve Years

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

Chapter V: Of Offences Against Women & Children
Magistrate 1st Class
Bailable
Cognizable
Formerly Sec 317 IPC
Section 92 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 94

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 93

Section 93 penalizes the exposure and abandonment of a child under twelve years by a parent or person having care of it, prescribing imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or fine, or both.

  • Parent or Custodian: Applies to father, mother, or any person having the lawful care or custody of the child.
  • Child Under Twelve Years: The victim must be a child under twelve years of age.
  • Intent to Wholly Abandon: The child is exposed or left in any place with the intention of wholly abandoning the child.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Empress v. Kangali (1882) ILR 8 Cal 307: Historic authority: leaving an infant in a field or temple steps constitutes exposure and abandonment under Section 317 IPC (Section 93 BNS).
  • State of Kerala v. V.M. Joseph (1993) Cri LJ 3594: Affirmed that leaving a child in a deserted public place satisfies the statutory requirement of intentional abandonment.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In defending indigent or mentally distressed mothers who left an infant at a hospital or orphanage cradle, establish absence of lethal intent: show that the infant was left at a safe welfare institution, pleading for reformative community service under Section 4(f) BNS.

Section 92 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 94