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Section 95: Hiring, Employing or Engaging Child to Commit an Offence

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
Non-Bailable
Cognizable
Brand New BNS Section (Child Exploitation)
Section 94 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 96

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 95

Section 95 introduces a landmark child protection provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, penalizing anyone who hires, employs, or engages any child to commit an offence, punishing the adult employer with the punishment provided for that offence as if it were committed by them.

  • Exploitation of Children in Crime: Criminalizes organized criminal syndicates and adults hiring minors to transport narcotics, commit petty theft, or carry weapons.
  • Full Principal Punishment: The adult who hired or engaged the child is punished with the FULL punishment provided for the offence, as if the adult committed it personally.
  • Child Protection Baseline: Prevents adult criminals from exploiting juvenile immunity (under the JJ Act) by hiding behind child couriers.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • State of Maharashtra v. Som Nath Thapa (1996) 4 SCC 659: The Supreme Court emphasized that adult syndicates orchestrating crimes through subordinate couriers bear primary culpability.
  • Independent Thought v. Union of India (2017) 10 SCC 800: Highlighted the positive constitutional duty of the state under Article 39(e) and (f) to protect children from economic and criminal exploitation.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In drug trafficking (NDPS) or bootlegging syndicates where minors were caught carrying contraband, prosecute the adult mastermind under Section 95 BNS: the adult cannot hide behind the juvenile's age and faces full adult punishment.

Section 94 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 96