BNS Section 351: Criminal Intimidation – Definition, Ingredients & Punishment

Whoever threatens another by any means, with any injury to his person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat, commits criminal intimidation. 

Explanation: A threat to injure the reputation of any deceased person in whom the person threatened is interested, is within this section. 

Illustration. 

1. A, for the purpose of inducing B to resist from prosecuting a civil suit, threatens to burn B’s house. A is guilty of criminal intimidation. 
2. Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. 
3. Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation by threatening to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.  
4. Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication, or having taken precaution to conceal the name or abode of the person from whom the threat comes, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, in addition to the punishment provided for the offence under sub-section.

In simpler terms, criminal intimidation which is outlined in Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) replaces Section 503 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It addresses situations where a person communicates a threat of injury to body, reputation or property with the intent to alarm the person threatened or to cause that person to do something against that person’s will. The purpose is to protect will from being coerced or influenced.

Definition of Criminal Intimidation

Criminal intimidation is the intention of a threat to another in any manner i.e. by spoken word, written word, gestures, electronic communication, and accompanying threat or implications with the intent to:

• Cause alarm; or
• Cause the person threatened, to do something they are not legally required to do; or
• Prevent the person threatened, from doing something they are legally permitted to do,

Thus, the offence is done with the intent to instill fear and interfere with the will of another. The law recognizes that when someone threatens the reputation of a deceased person, if the person being threatened has some emotional or personal interest in the deceased person then it is criminal intimidation under this section.

Essential Ingredients of BNS Section 351

In order to prove an offense under Section 351, the following must be proven:

1. Threat: There must be a threat of injury to:

• Person, reputation, or property of the victim, OR
• Person or reputation of a person with whom the victim has a relationship (e.g., family member, close friend).

2. Intention to Cause Alarm: The act must require an intention to cause fear or alarm in the victim; the threat is not made casually without intention. For example, if a person made a threat to harm another without intending for that person to feel alarmed or scared, it would not meet that criteria.

3. Inducing action or inaction: The intimidation must have that intended the victim to:

• Do something that they were not legally obligated to do or
• Not do something legally entitled to.

4. Mode of Communication: The threat may be communicated to person through any means such as letters (anonymous), phone calls, or digital means as long as it could reasonably be seen as able to cause alarm.

Punishments Under Section 351

Section 351 provides a hierarchy of punishments depending on the severity of the threat:

1. General Criminal Intimidation (Sub-sections 1 and 2): 

• Imprisonment for up to 2 years, or
• Fine, or 
• Both

2. Aggravated Intimidation (Sub-section 3): If the threat of intimidation includes:

• Death or grievous hurt or property damage by fire.
• A devolution of property by committing an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment.
• Or impute unchastity to a woman.

The punishment increases to 7 years imprisonment and includes a bill of fine.

3. Anonymous Threats (Sub-section 4): If intimidation includes acts that hide the identity or involve communication that excludes an identity, including anonymous threats, then total punishment increases to imprisonment of additional 2 years.

Illustration

1. Example: “A” threatens to burn “B” house down unless “B” withdraws a civil suit. This would be criminal intimidation under section 351.
2. Another Examples: “X” threatens to post false allegations about “Y” deceased father’s reputation unless “Y” pays money. This too would be encompassed in this section.

Landmark Judgments

Manik Taneja v. State of Karnataka (2015, SC): 

In this case, the Supreme Court held that an expression of words, which were not intended to alarm, was not an act of criminal intimidation. Intention is important.

Ramesh Chandra Arora v. State (1960, SC): 

The Court recognized that imputing unchastity to a woman is an act of intimidation, and given that this falls under aggravated clause, imposing less punishment for such conduct is unacceptable.

State of Himachal Pradesh v. Mast Ram (2004, SC): 

The Court pointed out that the test results from whether the threat could cause alarm to an ordinary, reasonable person, not simply whether the complainant felt alarm.

FAQs on BNS Section 351