BNS Section 61 (IPC 120B): criminal conspiracy

The number IPC 120A and 120B have now, what makes an agreement a crime, and why arrest and bail depend on what was planned.

Quick answer

Section 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita defines and punishes criminal conspiracy, and replaced sections 120A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code for offences committed on or after 1 July 2024. IPC 120B is now section 61(2). A conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, life or rigorous imprisonment of two years or more is punished as abetment of that offence, and takes that offence’s arrest and bail classification. Any other conspiracy carries up to six months, and is non-cognizable and bailable.

Defines criminal conspiracy — an agreement between two or more people to do an illegal act, or a legal act by illegal means — and punishes being a party to one.

Now: BNS 61 — Criminal conspiracy
Was: IPC 120A / 120B
Punishment: 61(2)(a): as for abetment of the offence conspired at · 61(2)(b): up to 6 months, or fine, or both
Arrest without warrant: Follows the object offence / Non-cognizable
Bail: Follows the object offence / Bailable
Compounding: Not compoundable
Tried by: Court by which abetment of the offence which is the object of conspiracy is triable / Magistrate of the first class

Read this first: Under 61(2)(a) there is no fixed answer on arrest or bail: the conspiracy takes the classification of the offence it aimed at, so a conspiracy to commit a non-bailable offence is non-bailable.

The number it had, and the number it has

Repealed — Indian Penal Code, 1860

IPC 120A / 120B

Definition of criminal conspiracy.

In force — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

BNS 61(1)

Criminal conspiracy.

Merged

Several provisions of the Indian Penal Code were folded into one section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, landing in its sub-sections. So the new number alone is not the answer — the sub-section is.

How this provision was renumbered
IPC 120A	becomes BNS 61(1)	merged
IPC 120B	becomes BNS 61(2)	merged

Key takeaways

Section 61(1) defines criminal conspiracy, as IPC 120A did; section 61(2) punishes it, as IPC 120B did.
An agreement to commit an offence is a conspiracy by itself; any other illegal agreement needs an act done in pursuance of it.
Under 61(2)(a), arrest and bail follow the offence conspired at, so a conspiracy to cheat under 318(4) is non-bailable while one under 318(2) is bailable.
Under 61(2)(b) — every other conspiracy — the Schedule’s answer is non-cognizable, bailable, Magistrate of the first class.
Section 61 is in neither compounding table of BNSS s. 359, and s. 359(3) does not extend compounding to conspiracy.

What BNS 61 actually requires

Every part below has to be present. This is not a list of factors to be weighed — if one element is missing, the offence is not made out at all, however bad the conduct looks.

Two or more persons
One person cannot conspire alone; the section begins “when two or more persons agree”.
and
Who agree
The agreement itself is the core of the offence. The object need not be the ultimate aim — it is enough that the illegal act is incidental to it (Explanation).
and
To do an illegal act, or a legal act by illegal means
“Illegal” covers everything that is an offence, is prohibited by law, or furnishes ground for a civil action (s. 2(15)).
and
And, unless the object is an offence, an act in pursuance
An agreement to commit an offence is complete as a conspiracy. Any other agreement needs some act besides the agreement, done by a party in pursuance of it (proviso to s. 61(1)).

Read from section 61(1), its proviso and its Explanation, with the definition of “illegal” in section 2(15).

Is BNS 61 bailable, cognizable and compoundable?

Arrest, bail and the court come from the First Schedule to the BNSS; compounding comes from section 359. What follows from each label is given with it.

61(2)(a) — Criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term of 2 years or upwards

Arrest
Follows the object offence
The Schedule gives this row no label of its own. It takes whatever classification the offence the conspiracy aimed at carries, so the answer is on that offence’s row.
Bail
Follows the object offence
The Schedule gives this row no label of its own. It takes whatever classification the offence the conspiracy aimed at carries, so the answer is on that offence’s row.
Compounding
Not compoundable
The complainant cannot end the case by settling it. BNSS s. 359 lists every offence that may be compounded and this one is not on either list, so only the court can end the case.
Tried by
Court by which abetment of the offence which is the object of conspiracy is triable

61(2)(b) — Any other criminal conspiracy

Arrest
Non-cognizable
The police may not investigate, and may not arrest, without an order from a Magistrate. In practice you go to the Magistrate rather than only to the police station, and an officer who says there is nothing they can do is describing the law correctly rather than refusing you.
Bail
Bailable
Bail is a right, not a request. The officer in charge or the court must release you on bail once you offer it — there is no discretion to refuse.
Compounding
Not compoundable
The complainant cannot end the case by settling it. BNSS s. 359 lists every offence that may be compounded and this one is not on either list, so only the court can end the case.
Tried by
Magistrate of the first class
Tried by a Judicial Magistrate of the first class, whose sentencing power is capped, so the charge is expected to stay within that cap.

The Schedule’s words — 61(2)(a)According as the offence which is the object of conspiracy is cognizable or non-cognizable. / According as offence which is object of conspiracy is bailable or non-bailable.

Read from the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (printed page 175), and section 359 for compounding.

Worked example: one section, four different answers on arrest and bail

Agreement 1
To cheat someone into handing over money
Offence aimed at
BNS 318(4), up to 7 years
Clause
61(2)(a)takes the object offence’s row
Result
Cognizable · Non-bailable
Agreement 2
To cheat someone, with no property handed over
Offence aimed at
BNS 318(2), up to 3 years
Clause
61(2)(a)takes the object offence’s row
Result
Non-cognizable · Bailable
Agreement 3
To commit murder
Offence aimed at
BNS 103(1), death or life
Clause
61(2)(a)takes the object offence’s row
Result
Cognizable · Non-bailable
Agreement 4
To do an illegal act that is not an offence of that gravity
Offence aimed at
No offence punishable with death, life or 2+ years’ rigorous imprisonment
Clause
61(2)(b)its own Schedule row
Result
Non-cognizable · Bailable

Arrest and bail for agreements 1 to 3 are the object offences’ own First Schedule rows (printed pages 210 and 180), which the 61(2)(a) row on printed page 175 adopts “according as” the object offence. Agreement 4 is the 61(2)(b) row. The court for a 61(2)(a) conspiracy is the one that tries abetment of the object offence, and abetment is triable by the court that tries the offence abetted (rows 49 and 56, printed pages 173–174). 318(2) and 318(4) fall in clause (a) because imprisonment of either description includes rigorous imprisonment (BNS s. 4(c)).

Conspiracy to commit a compoundable offence. BNSS s. 359(3) lets the abetment of, or an attempt to commit, a compoundable offence — and liability under BNS s. 3(5) or s. 190 — be compounded in like manner. It does not name criminal conspiracy, section 61 is in neither table, and s. 359(9) allows nothing else. So even a conspiracy to commit 318(2) is not listed as compoundable.

Punishment for criminal conspiracy, worked out through abetment

Clause (b) states its own maximum: six months, or fine, or both. Clause (a) states none. It sends the court to the punishment for abetment of the offence conspired at, which turns on whether that offence was committed in pursuance of the conspiracy — the full punishment for the offence if it was (s. 49), and a fraction or a fixed ceiling if it was not (ss. 55, 56). The bars below apply that rule to two offences, and the table further down sets the steps out.

Maximum imprisonment for a party to a conspiracy, by what was planned and what happened

Conspiracy to murder — murder committed (s. 49)this pagedeath or life
Conspiracy to murder — not committed, hurt caused (s. 55)this pageup to 14 years and fine
Conspiracy to murder — not committed (s. 55)this pageup to 7 years and fine
Conspiracy to cheat under 318(4) — cheating committed (s. 49)this pageup to 7 years and fine
Conspiracy to cheat under 318(4) — not committed (s. 56)this pageup to 1 year 9 months
Any other conspiracy — 61(2)(b)this pageup to 6 months

Worked from sections 49, 55, 56, 61, 103 and 318. A maximum is a ceiling, not what a court awards. The full-width bar is death or imprisonment for life.

What happens, and how long each part takes

Report to the police or the Magistrateon the day
Under 61(2)(a) the route follows the object offence: an FIR where it is cognizable (BNSS s. 173). Under 61(2)(b) alone, referral to the Magistrate, who must order any investigation (s. 174(1), (2)).
From here it is not yours to control
Everything below happens on the investigating agency’s timetable and the court’s, not yours. You can follow it and you can be heard in it; you cannot set its pace.
Arrestduring investigation
Without a warrant only where the object offence is cognizable, on the conditions of s. 35(1). Under 61(2)(b), only on a warrant or a Magistrate’s order (s. 35(2)).
Charge-sheetwithin 60 or 90 days of custody
Ninety days where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, life or ten years or more; sixty otherwise. After that, bail on furnishing it (s. 187(3)).
61(2)(b): the six-month stop6 months from arrest
In a summons-case, the Magistrate stops an investigation not concluded within six months of arrest, unless the officer shows special reasons (s. 187(9)).
Trialno fixed period
Under 61(2)(a), in the court that tries abetment of the object offence — for a conspiracy to murder, a Court of Session. Under 61(2)(b), a Magistrate of the first class.

The time limits are the BNSS’s own. No provision fixes how long a conspiracy trial takes.

What is the punishment for criminal conspiracy? The abetment rules 61(2)(a) borrows

Section 61(2)(a) does not state a term. It says a party to the conspiracy is punished "in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence", where no express provision punishes that conspiracy. So the answer comes from the abetment sections, and it depends on whether the offence was carried out.

If it was committed in pursuance of the conspiracy, the abettor gets the punishment provided for the offence itself (s. 49 and its Explanation). If it was not, an offence punishable with imprisonment carries up to one-fourth of its longest term, or its fine, or both (s. 56); an offence punishable with death or life carries up to seven years and fine, or fourteen if hurt is caused (s. 55). Imprisonment "of either description" includes rigorous imprisonment (s. 4(c)), which is why cheating under 318(2) and 318(4) falls within clause (a).

Worked examples: the maximum under section 61(2), by the offence conspired at

Conspiracy to commit	If the offence is committed	If it is not committed
Cheating, property delivered — 318(4), up to 7 years	Up to 7 years and fine (s. 49)	Up to 1 year 9 months, or fine, or both (s. 56: one-fourth of 7 years)
Cheating — 318(2), up to 3 years	Up to 3 years, or fine, or both (s. 49)	Up to 9 months, or fine, or both (s. 56: one-fourth of 3 years)
Murder — 103(1), death or life	Death or imprisonment for life, and fine (s. 49)	Up to 7 years and fine; up to 14 if hurt is caused (s. 55)
Any other conspiracy — 61(2)(b)	Up to 6 months, or fine, or both	The same. Where the object is not an offence at all, an act in pursuance must be done first (s. 61(1), proviso)

Maximums from sections 49, 55, 56, 61, 103 and 318 of the Sanhita. Section 56 doubles the fraction to one-half where the abettor or the person abetted is a public servant whose duty is to prevent the offence.

If you were the target of a conspiracy: where to report and what follows

Under 61(2)(a) the route to the police follows the offence the conspiracy aimed at. Where the object offence is cognizable, the police record the information and investigate without a Magistrate’s order (BNSS ss. 173(1), 175(1)); and a case in which any one offence is cognizable is treated as cognizable as a whole (s. 174(4)).

A conspiracy under 61(2)(b) is non-cognizable. On its own it is entered in the station book and the informant is referred to the Magistrate, and the police cannot investigate without the Magistrate’s order (s. 174(1), (2)). Because it carries six months at most, it is a summons-case: if the investigation is not concluded within six months of the arrest, the Magistrate stops it unless the officer shows special reasons (ss. 2(1)(x), 187(9)).

A compromise is not open. Section 61 is in neither table of s. 359, and s. 359(9) allows no compounding except as that section provides.

If you have been accused of criminal conspiracy: arrest, bail and custody

An arrested person must be told the full particulars of the offence, and someone they nominate must be told of the arrest (BNSS ss. 47(1), 48(1)). Under 61(2)(b) the police may not arrest without a warrant or a Magistrate’s order, save to ascertain the name and residence of a person who refuses to give them (ss. 35(2), 39), and bail is a right (s. 478(1)).

Under 61(2)(a), whether bail is a right depends on the offence conspired at. Where that offence is non-bailable, the court decides (s. 480). When bail is granted under s. 480(1) to a person accused of conspiring to commit an offence punishable with seven years or more, or an offence under Chapter VI, VII or XVII of the Sanhita, the court must impose the conditions in s. 480(3). Anticipatory bail is sought from the High Court or Court of Session (s. 482).

The cap on custody before a charge-sheet is ninety days where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, life or ten years or more, and sixty days otherwise (s. 187(3)).

Official sources checked

The statutes, rules and regulator pages the statements on this page were checked against.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — sections 2, 3, 4, 45, 49, 55, 56, 61, 103 and 318
Read 13 September 2026. Section 61(1), its proviso and Explanation, and 61(2)(a) and (b), quoted from the enacted text.
BNSS, 2023 — First Schedule, rows 61(2)(a) and 61(2)(b), with rows 49, 56, 103 and 318
Printed page 175 for section 61, read from the page image; the Schedule prints the second row as "61(2)(1)". Abetment rows 49 and 56 on printed pages 173–174; 318 on page 210.
BNSS, 2023 — sections 2, 35, 47, 48, 173, 174, 175, 187, 359, 478, 480 and 482
Summons-cases, arrest, recording information, non-cognizable cases, custody limits, compounding and bail.
Ministry of Home Affairs — corresponding sections, IPC to BNS
IPC 120A → 61(1), 120B → 61(2). Not marked changed.

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Last reviewed September 2026.