IPC to BNS Converters Compared: Government Tables, Apps and Free Tools

Last updated: 3 November 2026

Key takeaways

• The government reference is the BPR&D correspondence table, which works at sub-section level and notes where IPC sections were merged, split or dropped.
• Six mappings we tested are easy to get wrong: IPC 420, 34, 309, 124A, 377 and 498A. Two have no counterpart at all, one is split across two BNS sections and one lands in a sub-section.
• Number collisions are a real trap. CrPC 482 is the High Court’s inherent powers; BNSS 482 is anticipatory bail. CrPC 482 is now BNSS 528.
• Bill-stage tables use clause numbers, not the enacted section numbers. Cheating was Clause 316 in the 2023 Bill and is Section 318 in the BNS.
• A converter is a research aid, not an authority. Read the old text, the new text and, for a charge, the Gazette.

What is the best IPC to BNS converter?

The best IPC to BNS converter depends on what you are doing: the BPR&D table for an official reference, the NCRB Sankalan app for a phone without signal, and a section-level web tool when you need both texts side by side. No converter replaces reading the sections themselves.

• Best official reference: the BPR&D correspondence table and comparison summary for the BNS (and its twin for the BNSS).
• Best on a phone, offline: NCRB Sankalan of Criminal Laws, from the National Crime Records Bureau.
• Best for a quick study table: edtech and publisher tables such as LawSikho’s blog table or LatestLaws’ comparison pages.
• Best for both texts on one page with a match score: the IndiaCode by eCourtsIndia converter (ours).
• Best for software that converts in bulk: a mapping API, either ours or Vaquill’s corresponding provisions endpoint.

Our earlier guide to IPC to BNS section mapping lists the sections lawyers cite most. This post is about the tools themselves, and about the mappings where tools tend to differ.

Why do IPC to BNS conversions go wrong?

Conversions go wrong because the BNS did not simply renumber the IPC; it merged sections, split others, moved some into sub-sections, dropped a few and added new offences. A one-line “IPC X = BNS Y” table hides all of that.

Pattern	Example (verified 3 Nov 2026)	What a careless lookup gets wrong
Many IPC sections into one BNS section	IPC 415, 418 and 420 all lead to BNS 318	Treats 318 as only “the new 420”
One IPC section split in two	IPC 498A to BNS 85, with “cruelty” defined in BNS 86	Cites 85 and misses the definition
Moved into a sub-section	IPC 34 to BNS 3(5)	Cites “BNS 3” without the sub-section
No counterpart	IPC 377 and IPC 497	Picks the nearest number anyway
Narrower new offence	IPC 309 and BNS 226	Treats a different offence as a renumbering
Bill clause, not enacted section	Cheating: Clause 316 of the Bill, Section 318 of the Act	Uses a 2023 Bill table for an enacted code
Same number, different code	CrPC 482 is now BNSS 528; BNSS 482 is anticipatory bail	Reads “482” as the same power in both

How do the main IPC to BNS converters compare?

They differ most on where the mapping comes from, whether it works at sub-section level, and whether it shows you both texts. This table records what each tool’s own page or document says.

Tool	Who publishes it	Basis	Sub-section level	Both texts shown	Classification	API
BPR&D correspondence table	BPR&D (prepared by the Director, CAPT Bhopal)	Official comparison summary	Yes	Summary of change, not full text	Not stated	No (PDF)
NCRB Sankalan app	National Crime Records Bureau	Section-wise comparison chart	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	No
Project 39A comparison (UP Police site)	Project 39A with NLU Delhi students	BNS Bill, 2023 clauses	Mostly clause level	Annotated text	No	No (PDF)
LawSikho conversion table	LawSikho blog	Says cross-verified with Gazette bare acts	Yes, in places	No	Not stated	Not stated
LatestLaws comparison	LatestLaws	Own comparison, no source cited	Yes	Summary only	Not stated	Not stated
Vakeel360 converter	Vakeel360	No source cited	Partly	Via a Compare link	Not mentioned	Not stated
IndiaCode converter	eCourtsIndia (ours)	Text similarity, not official	Section level	Yes, both in full	Yes, on the BNS page	Yes, paid API and MCP

BPR&D correspondence table: the official reference

The Bureau of Police Research and Development’s “Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)” is the closest thing to an official converter. The copy we read carries the name of Anil Kishore Yadav, IPS, Director, CAPT Bhopal, and runs in BNS order with four columns: BNS section or sub-section, subject, corresponding IPC sections, and a summary of the change (copy hosted by Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services, read 3 November 2026).

It works at sub-section level (103(1), 103(2), 318(1) to 318(4)) and says plainly where things moved. On BNS 85 and 86 it says “IPC Section 498A has been bifurcated into Sections 85 and 86”. On BNS 3(5) it says the IPC section “is included as sub-section in BNS sans heading. No other change.” It marks new offences such as BNS 111 (organised crime), 152 and 226. It also records that IPC 377 has been excluded altogether. A twin document does the same for the BNSS and the CrPC (BNSS to CrPC summary, read 3 November 2026).

BPR&D’s own copy is at bprd.nic.in, the address LawSikho’s page links to, but our automated reader could not open it on 3 November 2026 because of the site’s robots rules, so we read the copy on the Kerala Prisons website. The document carries no publication date and refers to the IPC being repealed on 1 July 2024.

Use it when: you want the government’s own account of what moved where, at sub-section level, and are happy to work from a PDF.

NCRB Sankalan of Criminal Laws: the government app

NCRB Sankalan is a free app from the National Crime Records Bureau that compiles the three new codes with a section-wise comparison to the old ones. All India Radio’s news service reported on 13 June 2024 that it “provides an Index linking all Chapters and Sections of the new laws”, has “a corresponding chart for section-wise comparison between old and new laws”, and is “designed to work in offline mode” (News On AIR, read 3 November 2026). Its Google Play listing names the National Crime Records Bureau as developer, shows 500K+ downloads and a last update of 22 May 2024 (Google Play, read 3 November 2026). Neither page says whether the chart works at sub-section level or shows full texts.

Use it when: you are in a police station, a court corridor or anywhere without signal and need the new number for an old section.

Bill-stage comparisons: useful history, wrong numbers

Several comparisons were written in 2023, before the codes were enacted, and they use the Bill’s clause numbers, which are not the final section numbers. A good example is “Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 & Indian Penal Code, 1860: An Annotated Comparison” by Project 39A, with four National Law University, Delhi students, hosted on the Uttar Pradesh Police website. It refers to the Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha on 11 August 2023 (Bill No. 121 of 2023). Its columns are clause in the Bill, title, and relevant IPC section, and it lists deleted provisions, including IPC 124A, 309, 377 and 497 (UP Police copy, read 3 November 2026).

Its row for cheating reads “Clause 316 Cheating S. 415, S. 417- S. 418, S. 420”. In the enacted BNS, cheating is Section 318. That is not a flaw in the document, which compares the Bill as introduced; it is a reason not to use any Bill-stage table to convert a charge under the enacted code.

Use it when: you are researching how the codes changed between the Bill and the Act, not when you are converting a section number.

LawSikho and other study tables

Law-school and edtech tables are built for learning, and they are good at explaining what changed in plain words. LawSikho’s “IPC to BNS Conversion Table 2026”, published 26 March 2026 and last updated 5 June 2026, maps IPC to BNS, CrPC to BNSS and the Evidence Act to the BSA across thematic tables of about 55 IPC rows, plus quick-answer, reverse, new-offence and deletion tables. It shows sub-sections in places (103(1), 3(5), 115(2)), says each mapping was cross-verified against the bare acts as published in the Gazette, and links to India Code, PRS India and the BPR&D summary. It offers no PDF download (LawSikho blog, read 3 November 2026).

Its rows mark IPC 309, 377 and 497 as “DELETED” and IPC 124A as “DELETED (replaced by 152)”, and map IPC 34 to BNS 3(5).

Use it when: you are preparing for an exam or a viva and want the main changes explained, then check the section text before relying on any row.

LatestLaws and Vakeel360: free web tools

LatestLaws publishes full comparison tables for the BNS and the BNSS. Its BNS to IPC table has four columns (BNS section or sub-section, IPC section, subject, summary of comparison), lists 318(1) to 318(4) as separate rows, marks BNS 226 as new, and shows no login wall. It does not cite an external source (LatestLaws BNS to IPC, BNSS to CrPC, read 3 November 2026).

Vakeel360’s converter lets you search by IPC number, BNS number or keyword. Its tables show the IPC section, a short title, the BNS section, a “Changed?” flag and a “Compare” link, one BNS number per IPC row. It maps IPC 34 to BNS 3(5) and IPC 124A to BNS 152 (marked changed), says attempt to commit suicide was “Removed as a criminal offence”, and states that the mapping is “for general informational and educational purposes only” and “does not constitute legal advice”. It cites no source (Vakeel360 IPC to BNS, read 3 November 2026).

Use them when: you want a fast, free, searchable table and will read the sections before citing them.

IndiaCode by eCourtsIndia: both texts, with a match score

Our converter lists every IPC provision with the BNS provision whose text is closest, a relation label and a similarity percentage, and gives each IPC section its own page with both texts in full. As of 3 November 2026 the table covered 553 IPC provisions: 315 marked “Text carried over almost unchanged”, 161 “Close, with changes”, 25 “Distant match” and 52 “No close match found” (IndiaCode IPC to BNS, read 3 November 2026).

Each section page, such as IPC 420, shows both texts, the repeal date, the next-closest matches, and a note that the score measures textual similarity, not legal equivalence, and that the mapping is not official. The BNS section page then adds the BNSS First Schedule classification and related judgments. The same data is in the Acts and Sections API and the MCP as a relation label (near-identical, close or weaker values).

The caveat to keep in mind: our mappings work at section level and come from comparing texts, so they are a research aid, not an official table. Where the drafters split or merged a provision, read the neighbouring BNS sections too; the 498A example below shows how.

Use it when: you want to see both texts and a measured match on one page, then go straight to classification and case law.

Six tricky IPC to BNS mappings, tested

We ran six mappings that often trip people up through the eCourtsIndia MCP and the IndiaCode converter on 3 November 2026, and checked each against the BPR&D comparison summary. A straightforward one first, for contrast: IPC 302 (murder) maps to BNS 103 as near-identical, 90% on the converter.

IPC section	IndiaCode / MCP result	BPR&D summary	What to do
420 Cheating	BNS 318, close (69%). 318 lists IPC 415, 418, 420	318(1) to 318(4) cover cheating	Cite the 318 sub-section that fits the facts
34 Common intention	BNS 3, close (70%)	Now BNS 3(5), “sans heading”	Cite BNS 3(5), not BNS 3
309 Attempt to suicide	BNS 226, weak (57%, distant)	BNS 226 listed as a new offence	Do not treat 226 as the new 309
124A Sedition	No recorded counterpart	BNS 152 listed as a new offence	Read 152 on its own terms
377 Unnatural offences	No recorded counterpart	IPC 377 “excluded altogether”	No BNS number to substitute
498A Cruelty	BNS 85, near-identical	Split into BNS 85 and 86	Read 85 with the definition in 86

1. IPC 420 is not the whole of BNS 318

IPC 420 maps to BNS 318, but BNS 318 also absorbs IPC 415 and 418, so the conversion is many-to-one. Run backwards from BNS 318 and you get three predecessors: IPC 415 near-identical, 418 close and 420 close. That matters for classification. BNS 318 creates three offences, and only one of them, “cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property”, is cognizable and non-bailable, with 7 years and fine, triable by a Magistrate of the first class. Plain cheating is non-cognizable and bailable. A converter that says “420 = 318” and stops can point you to the wrong row.

2. IPC 34 lives in a sub-section of BNS 3

Common intention moved from its own section into the general explanations, so the correct citation is BNS 3(5). Our mapping links IPC 34 to BNS 3 as “close”, because BNS 3 also gathers IPC 6, 7, 27, 32 and 35 to 38. The text of 3(5) reads: “When a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.” The BPR&D summary, LawSikho and Vakeel360 all give 3(5). IndiaCode’s converter works at section level, so read down to sub-section (5) and cite BNS 3(5).

3. IPC 309 and BNS 226 are different offences

BNS 226 is not a renumbered IPC 309; it punishes attempting suicide with intent to compel or restrain a public servant from discharging an official duty. Our mapping marks the link as “weak” (57%, “Distant match”), the BPR&D summary lists 226 as new, and Project 39A lists IPC 309 among deleted provisions. BNS 226 is non-cognizable, bailable, triable by any Magistrate, with up to one year, fine, both or community service. If a converter shows “309 to 226” with no warning, read 226 before you use it.

4. IPC 124A has no counterpart, and BNS 152 is worded differently

Sedition was not re-enacted. BNS 152, “Act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”, is the provision usually cited in its place, but it is a differently worded offence. Our mapping records no counterpart for IPC 124A, and the converter says “No close match found”. The BPR&D summary lists 152 as new. LawSikho writes “DELETED (replaced by 152)” and Vakeel360 maps 124A to 152 as changed, so different tools frame this differently. BNS 152 is cognizable, non-bailable, triable by a Court of Session, with imprisonment for life or up to seven years and fine. IPC 124A prosecutions were kept in abeyance by the Supreme Court in S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India (2022).

5. IPC 377 has no BNS number to substitute

There is no BNS section that corresponds to IPC 377. Our mapping returns no counterpart; the converter page says IPC 377 “has no close counterpart in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita” and lists BNS 148 (26%) and BNS 63 (25%) only as next-closest texts. The BPR&D summary says IPC 377 has been excluded altogether. Conduct before 1 July 2024 is still charged and tried under the IPC. The same goes for IPC 497 (adultery), which also has no recorded counterpart.

6. IPC 498A was split across BNS 85 and 86

IPC 498A maps to BNS 85 as near-identical, but the definition of “cruelty” that sat in 498A’s explanation is now BNS 86. The BPR&D summary says so directly: “IPC Section 498A has been bifurcated into Sections 85 and 86.” IndiaCode records BNS 85 as the successor of 498A, so when you convert 498A, also read BNS 86, where the definition of cruelty now sits. Our IndiaCode pillar guide explains how section pages link to each other.

Does the CrPC to BNSS converter have the same traps?

Yes, and the worst one is a number collision: section 482 means different things in the two codes. CrPC 482 (inherent powers of the High Court) maps to BNSS 528 as near-identical, while CrPC 438 (anticipatory bail) maps to BNSS 482 as near-identical. The BPR&D BNSS summary marks both as unchanged. A petition headed “482” is now ambiguous unless you name the code. Our CrPC to BNSS mapping guide covers the procedure side, and the sibling post on Evidence Act to BSA mapping covers evidence.

How do you check any IPC to BNS mapping yourself?

Use any converter to get a candidate number, then confirm it with five checks that work whatever tool you started with.

1. Read the old section in full, including explanations and exceptions.
2. Read the new section in full, every sub-section. If the old idea sits in one sub-section, cite that sub-section.
3. Run the mapping backwards. Start from the BNS section and see which IPC sections lead to it. If there are several, you are in a merge.
4. Check the official summary (BPR&D) for words like “bifurcated”, “new” or “excluded”.
5. Check the date of the offence. Before 1 July 2024, the IPC still applies; on or after, the BNS. For a charge or pleading, confirm the text in the Gazette.

When you search case law across the changeover, search both numbers. A 2023 FIR under IPC 420 and a 2025 FIR under BNS 318 will not find each other. Our sibling guide on finding case law on any section shows how.

What if you need to convert thousands of sections?

For bulk conversion, a mapping API is safer than copying a table, because it returns the relation label so you can flag weak or one-to-many matches for review. Two options publish their method:

• eCourtsIndia Acts and Sections API (ours): GET /api/partner/acts/{key}/sections/{number}/equivalents returns each equivalent with a relation and direction. A section with no mapping returns 404 EQUIVALENTS_NOT_FOUND and is not charged. Calls cost ₹0.05 at the Enterprise rate or ₹0.15 on Pay As You Go, with ₹200 of free credit on signup (API docs, read 3 November 2026).
• Vaquill: GET /api/v1/in/acts/corresponding-provisions/{act_code} at 1 credit per call returns IPC to BNS and CrPC to BNSS lists (Vaquill docs, read 3 November 2026). Its coverage page says it serves 534 IPC to BNS pairs and 518 CrPC to BNSS pairs “transcribed from the correspondence tables the Bureau of Police Research and Development publishes”, with isComplete false because “the official tables themselves do not pair every section” (Vaquill India coverage, read 3 November 2026).

Our sibling post on migrating legacy FIR and case data with an IPC to BNS API has a working design, and the Indian legislation API comparison compares the APIs more broadly.

What this comparison does not tell you

• It does not grade anyone’s table. Where tools differ (IPC 124A, IPC 309), we report what each says. Read the sections and decide.
• No converter is an authority. The BPR&D table is the government’s comparison; the Gazette is the law.
• A mapping is not a legal equivalence. Whether an old offence and a new one are “the same” for a particular case is for the court.
• Pages change. Every tool was read on 3 November 2026.

Sources and method

• BPR&D Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary, BNS to IPC and BNSS to CrPC, copies on the Kerala Prisons website: BNS to IPC, BNSS to CrPC, read 3 November 2026. BPR&D’s copy at bprd.nic.in could not be read (robots rules).
• Project 39A, BNS Bill 2023 and IPC annotated comparison, UP Police copy, read 3 November 2026.
• NCRB Sankalan: News On AIR, 13 June 2024 and Google Play listing, read 3 November 2026.
• LawSikho, IPC to BNS Conversion Table 2026, lawsikho.com, read 3 November 2026.
• LatestLaws comparison tables, BNS to IPC, BNSS to CrPC, read 3 November 2026.
• Vakeel360 IPC to BNS converter, vakeel360.com, read 3 November 2026.
• Vaquill corresponding provisions endpoint and India coverage, endpoint, coverage, read 3 November 2026.
• IndiaCode converter and section pages, ipc-to-bns, 420, 377, read 3 November 2026.
• map_provision (IPC 302, 420, 34, 309, 124A, 377, 497, 498A, 304A, 376; BNS 318, 111; CrPC 438, 482) and lookup_provisions (BNS 3, 152, 226, 111, 86; IPC 309, 377, 497, 124A) via the eCourtsIndia MCP, 3 November 2026.

Frequently asked questions