BNS Section 42 — When such right extends to causing any harm other than death
Section 42 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 addresses “When such right extends to causing any harm other than death”. Read the provision below with its qualifications, exceptions and chapter context; the official source is linked alongside it.
42. When such right extends to causing any harm other than death.—If the offence, the committing of which, or the attempting to commit which occasions the exercise of the right of private defence, be theft, mischief, or criminal trespass, not of any of the descriptions specified in section 41, that right does not extend to the voluntary causing of death, but does extend, subject to the restrictions specified in section 37, to the voluntary causing to the wrong-doer of any harm other than death. ¶
Source edition: 6 October 2025. This preview uses extracted India Code text. Editorial verification and checks for subsequent amendments and commencement notifications are pending. About the source →