Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Section 130
Assault
Whoever makes any gesture, or any preparation intending or knowing it to be likely that such gesture or preparation will cause any person present to apprehend that he who makes that gesture or preparation is about to use criminal force to that person, is said to commit an assault. Explanation.—Mere words do not amount to an assault. But the words which a person uses may give to his gestures or preparation such a meaning as may make those gestures or preparations amount to an assault. Illustrations.
(a) A shakes his fist at Z, intending or knowing it to be likely that he may thereby cause Z to believe that A is about to strike Z. A has committed an assault.
(b) A begins to unloose the muzzle of a ferocious dog, intending or knowing it to be likely that he may thereby cause Z to believe that he is about to cause the dog to attack Z. A has committed an assault upon Z.
(c) A takes up a stick, saying to Z, “I will give you a beating”. Here, though the words used by A could in no case amount to an assault, and though the mere gesture, unaccompanied by any other circumstances, might not amount to an assault, the gesture explained by the words may amount to an assault.
Why this exists
This provision continues the definition from Section 351 of the old Indian Penal Code, 1860, largely unchanged in substance under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Criminal law has long recognised that the fear of imminent violence is itself a harm worth punishing, separate from actual physical contact (which is dealt with as 'criminal force' or hurt elsewhere in the code). It protects a person's sense of physical safety and peace of mind, not just their body.
How courts read it
Indian courts, interpreting the identical language under the former IPC Section 351, have consistently held that assault requires apprehension of *imminent* criminal force — not vague future threats. Courts have emphasised that mere words, however abusive, do not amount to assault unless combined with a gesture or preparation (as in illustration (c)). The apprehension must be reasonable and present in the victim's mind at the time of the act; the accused's actual capacity or intention to carry out the threat is less important than the impression created.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Assault means someone actually hit or touched you.
Fact: Under this section, assault only requires causing fear of imminent force — actual physical contact is covered separately as 'criminal force' or 'hurt', not assault. - Myth: Verbal threats alone are always assault.
Fact: The Explanation clearly states mere words do not amount to assault, unless paired with a gesture or preparation that the words give meaning to.