Extortion Online: Section 308 BNS Punishment and Defences
By Advocate Panchanand Shaw, Bar Council of West Bengal · Published 4 Nov 2026 · Cyber law
Online extortion is the offence of putting a person in fear of injury and using that fear to make them part with money or property, punished under Section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The basic offence carries up to seven years; threats of death or a false accusation carry up to ten. This guide explains the law and the steps to take.
Extortion online in India is dealt with under Section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which punishes a person who intentionally puts another in fear of injury and thereby dishonestly induces that person to part with property. Extortion under Section 308(2) carries imprisonment up to seven years, or a fine, or both, and is cognizable and non-bailable. When the fear is of death or grievous hurt, or of a false accusation, the punishment rises, going up to ten years and a fine.
Online extortion takes familiar forms: a threat to leak private messages or images, a demand after a video call, a ransomware message that locks a computer, a fake notice from a fake police or tax officer, or a demand backed by data that was harvested from a hacked account. Whatever the wrapper, the legal question is the same: was the victim placed in fear, and was property delivered because of that fear? If so, the offence is extortion, and the IT Act offences often run alongside it.
What the law means by extortion
Extortion has two elements. First, the person must put another in fear of injury — to that person or to anyone else. Second, that fear must induce the delivery of property, a valuable security, or anything that can be converted into one. The fear need not be of physical harm; a threat to expose personal data, to publish private images, or to file a false case can be enough, provided the delivery followed from the fear.
Section 308 groups together what the old Indian Penal Code set out across several sections, so the same incident can fall under more than one sub-section at once. The baseline offence is Section 308(2). The aggravated forms raise the stakes where the threat was of death, of grievous hurt, or of a criminal accusation.
Online forms of extortion
- Sextortion — a video call or an exchanged image is recorded, and the victim is told it will be sent to family or colleagues unless money is paid.
- Ransomware and hacking demands — a device or account is locked or data is copied, and payment is demanded to restore access or to stop its release.
- Blackmail over harvested data — contact lists, chats or photographs taken from a hacked email or social account are used as leverage.
- Impersonation threats — a caller posing as a police officer, a tax official or a courier claims a case is registered and demands a "settlement".
- Loan-app coercion — details from a borrower's phone are used to threaten the borrower and their contacts over repayment of an inflated loan.
Punishment under Section 308 BNS
| Sub-section | Conduct | Maximum punishment | Bail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 308(2) | Extortion | Imprisonment up to 7 years, or fine, or both | Non-bailable |
| 308(3) | Putting or attempting to put a person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion | Imprisonment up to 2 years, or fine, or both | Bailable |
| 308(4) | Putting or attempting to put a person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to commit extortion | Imprisonment up to 7 years and fine | Non-bailable |
| 308(5) | Extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt | Imprisonment up to 10 years and fine | Non-bailable |
| 308(6) and 308(7) | Putting a person in fear of a criminal accusation in order to commit extortion, or extortion by such a threat | Imprisonment up to 10 years and fine | Bailable |
The baseline offence under Section 308(2) is non-bailable. That matters: unlike the bailable offences discussed elsewhere on this site, a person arrested in a straightforward extortion case must apply for bail, and the court weighs the gravity of the demand and the risk of the accused repeating the conduct or influencing the complainant.
When the threat itself is the offence
Extortion requires that property actually be delivered. Where the demand was made but nothing was handed over, the threat may still be an offence in its own right. Section 351 BNS punishes criminal intimidation: a threat of injury to a person, reputation or property made to cause alarm or to compel a person to act against their will. The basic form under Section 351(2) carries up to two years, or a fine, or both, and an aggravated threat of death or grievous hurt under Section 351(3) carries up to seven years, or a fine, or both. Section 351(4) adds up to two years where the threat is made anonymously, which is common in online cases.
How the IT Act applies
Online extortion almost always engages the Information Technology Act, 2000 as well, and the correct complaint cites both statutes.
- Section 66, IT Act 2000 — computer-related offences, including unauthorised access and damage, punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to five lakh rupees, or both.
- Section 66C, IT Act 2000 — identity theft, where the offender uses another's identity or credentials.
- Section 66D, IT Act 2000 — cheating by personation using a computer resource, punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to one lakh rupees, or both.
- Section 67A, IT Act 2000 — publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material, which applies where sextortion material is circulated.
Extortion and cheating are different offences, and it matters which fits. Cheating under Section 318 BNS involves a dishonest inducement; extortion under Section 308 involves a threat. Where a caller claims a parcel holds contraband and demands a clearance fee, the demand may be extortion if it is backed by fear and cheating if it rests only on a false story. Where both elements are present, the complaint can cite both.
What a victim should do, step by step
- Do not pay. Payment rarely ends the demand and tends to confirm that the victim can be pressed further.
- Preserve everything. Screenshot the demand, the profile or number, the payment details sought, and any image or clip used as leverage. Do not delete the account.
- Call 1930 and report on cybercrime.gov.in. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the 1930 helpline are set up for exactly this; reporting early gives the police the best chance to freeze funds.
- Inform your bank at once if any money was already sent, and give the bank's nodal officer the transaction details in writing.
- File a written complaint at the jurisdictional police station and cite Section 308 BNS together with the relevant IT Act sections and, where a demand was made but not met, Section 351 BNS.
- If the police do not register an FIR, complain to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4) BNSS and then apply to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS for a direction to investigate.
- Secure your accounts. Change passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and revoke access to any app that was used to harvest data.
Because online extortion often straddles a financial loss and a threat, the first hours matter. A cyber crime lawyer in Kolkata can prepare the police complaint and the bank complaint together so that neither is delayed.
Recovering money paid under a threat
Where money was already transferred, two tracks open up. The first is the criminal complaint, which can support an application for the return of the property. The second is the bank route. The Reserve Bank of India's directions on unauthorised electronic transactions limit a customer's liability depending on whether the loss arose from the customer's own negligence and how quickly it was reported; a transaction reported promptly, and not caused by the customer's negligence, attracts the most favourable treatment. Where a customer was induced to authorise a payment by a fraud, the position is fact-specific and depends on the exact RBI direction that applies to the payment channel. If the bank does not resolve the complaint, the customer can approach the banking ombudsman.
Documents and evidence to preserve
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Screenshots of the demand and the sender's handle | Establishes the threat and the identity of the sender |
| Payment details and transaction records | Shows the property actually delivered |
| Bank complaint and nodal officer acknowledgement | Starts the recovery process and the liability assessment |
| Any leverage material — image, clip or data | Links the demand to its source |
| Section 63 BSA 2023 certificate | Makes the electronic record admissible |
Where an online extortion case is filed and tried
A complaint may be filed where the victim resides or where the demand was received, and the offence travels with the place of payment where money was sent. In Kolkata, the complaint is made at the jurisdictional police station or with the Cyber Crime Division of Kolkata Police; extortion under Section 308(2) is tried by a Magistrate of the first class, while connected graver offences may reach the City Sessions Court. Because online demands usually originate outside the state or outside the country, the investigating officer also uses the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and can seek records from the platform and the payment service. A victim should not assume the case is unworkable merely because the sender's location is not known.
What decides the outcome
- Whether fear induced the payment. The prosecution must show the delivery followed from the threat, not from some other reason.
- Which sub-section fits. Whether the threat was of injury, of death or grievous hurt, or of a criminal accusation decides the maximum sentence and whether the offence is bailable.
- Whether the sender can be identified. Platform records, subscriber details and payment trails usually lead to a name even where the demand came from an unknown number.
- How quickly the victim reported. Early reporting helps freeze funds and strengthens the bank-side case.
- Whether the victim paid further sums. Continuing payment tends to weaken the claim that each transfer was involuntary.
The single most important decision is the first one: whether to pay. Most online extortion follows a script, and the script assumes the victim will pay. Refusing to pay, reporting at once, and preserving the evidence removes the leverage the demand depends on.
Common mistakes
- Paying the first demand to make it stop, which usually invites a larger second demand.
- Deleting the messages or the account after paying, destroying the record of the threat.
- Reporting to the platform only, without filing a police complaint and informing the bank.
- Delay in informing the bank, which can affect the liability assessment under the RBI directions.
- Filing a complaint that describes the threat but does not attach the messages or the payment proof.
When to involve a lawyer
You can report an extortion demand yourself, and doing so quickly is the right instinct. A lawyer helps when the demand involves private images and the complaint must be handled discreetly, when a payment has to be traced and recovered through both the bank and the criminal case, when the police are slow and a Section 175(3) BNSS application is needed, or when the accused is seeking bail and the defence has to be assessed. The firm's criminal defence and cyber crime services in Kolkata cover both the complainant and the accused in these matters.
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Call +91-9007000603 WhatsAppFrequently asked questions
Is online extortion a criminal offence in India?
Yes. Extortion is an offence under Section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and it applies online as much as offline. Anyone who puts another person in fear of injury and thereby induces them to part with property commits extortion. The baseline offence under Section 308(2) carries up to seven years, or a fine, or both.
What is the punishment for extortion under Section 308 BNS?
Extortion under Section 308(2) is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, or a fine, or both, and is cognizable and non-bailable. Where the threat is of death or grievous hurt, Section 308(5) raises the punishment to imprisonment up to ten years and a fine, and a threat of a criminal accusation under Section 308(7) also carries up to ten years and a fine.
Is extortion under Section 308 a non-bailable offence?
The baseline offence under Section 308(2) is cognizable and non-bailable, so a person arrested must apply for bail. Some aggravated sub-sections, including 308(3), 308(6) and 308(7), are bailable. The court weighs the gravity of the demand, the risk of repetition and the risk of influencing the complainant when deciding whether to grant bail and what conditions to impose.
Does the law apply if I was threatened but paid nothing?
Yes, though the section used changes. Extortion under Section 308 requires that property actually be delivered. Where only a demand was made, the threat may still be criminal intimidation under Section 351 BNS, which punishes a threat of injury to person, reputation or property made to cause alarm or to compel a person to act against their will.
How do I report an online extortion demand?
Do not pay, screenshot the demand and the sender's details, and report on cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930. Then file a written complaint at the jurisdictional police station citing Section 308 BNS and the relevant IT Act sections. If the police do not register an FIR, complain to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4) BNSS and then apply to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS.
Can I recover money I already paid after an online threat?
Two tracks run together. The criminal complaint can support an application for return of the property, and the bank route follows the Reserve Bank of India's directions on unauthorised electronic transactions, which limit a customer's liability depending on negligence and how promptly the loss was reported. Inform the bank's nodal officer immediately, and approach the banking ombudsman if the complaint is not resolved.
What sections apply to sextortion in India?
Sextortion, where a private image or a recorded call is used as leverage, engages Section 308 BNS for the extortion itself, Section 351 BNS where the threat is the offence, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Section 67A of the IT Act covers publishing sexually explicit material, while Section 66D covers cheating by personation and Section 66C covers identity theft.
Is it a crime to threaten someone online even without asking for money?
Yes. A threat of injury to a person, their reputation or their property, made to cause alarm or to force them to act against their will, is criminal intimidation under Section 351 BNS. The basic offence carries up to two years, or a fine, or both, and an anonymous threat under Section 351(4) adds up to two years more.
Information for general guidance only and not legal advice. Provisions cited follow the Information Technology Act 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.
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