Section 139Kidnapping or maiming a child for purposes of begging
Chapter VI — Of Offences Affecting the Human Body
Copied from the Official Gazette. Not yet reviewed by a qualified legal professional.
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Text of the law
Official text (Gazette) Not yet legally reviewed(1) Whoever kidnaps any child or, not being the lawful guardian of such child, obtains the custody of the child, in order that such child may be employed or used for the purposes of begging shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) Whoever maims any child in order that such child may be employed or used for the purposes of begging shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and with fine.
(3) Where any person, not being the lawful guardian of a child employs or uses such child for the purposes of begging, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that he kidnapped or otherwise obtained the custody of such child in order that such child might be employed or used for the purposes of begging.
(4) In this section "begging" means—
(i) soliciting or receiving alms in a public place, whether under the pretence of singing, dancing, fortune telling, performing tricks or selling articles or otherwise;
(ii) entering on any private premises for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms;
(iii) exposing or exhibiting, with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound, injury, deformity or disease, whether of himself or of any other person or of an animal;
(iv) using such child as an exhibit for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms.
Amendments, judgments and appeal information have not been added for this section yet.
Source and checking
- Where this text comes from
- Gazette of India, Extraordinary, No. 53, 25 December 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023)
- Type of text
- Official text (Gazette)
- Pages in the Gazette
- pp. 45–46
- Text version
- As originally enacted in 2023. This text may not reflect subsequent amendments or commencement notifications. Last status check: 6 November 2026.
- When the Act came into force
- 1 July 2024, under Government notification S.O. 850(E), dated 23 February 2024. Read notification S.O. 850(E) in the Gazette of India (PDF, opens in a new tab)The notification excluded section 106(2); see the note on that section.Whether an excluded provision was brought into force later has not been independently confirmed. Checked against the Gazette on 6 November 2026. Not yet reviewed by a qualified legal professional.
- Checked by computer against the Gazette?
- Yes, words and structure match
- Reviewed by a qualified legal professional?
- Not yet
- Copied on
- 5 Nov 2026
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