Know the Law

There is no Indian law that names Biharis as a protected group the way, for instance, the SC/ST Act protects Scheduled Castes and Tribes. What exists instead is a set of constitutional and criminal provisions broad enough to cover discrimination on grounds of place of birth, residence, and language — grounds that were written into the Constitution and criminal law for general purposes, but that apply directly and literally to Biharis facing hostility in other states.

Below, the law is organised by what has actually happened to you. Each section gives a plain explanation first, followed by the exact text of the law — click to read it in full.

"I was threatened, attacked, or told to leave"

Organised intimidation, threats of violence, and mobs or individuals demanding that Biharis "go back" are not just a public order problem — they are specific, named criminal offences. Threatening a person's body, property, or reputation to force them out is criminal intimidation. Speech or organised activity that promotes hatred against people because of their place of birth, residence, or language — including training people to use force against them — is a separate offence, punishable more heavily if it happens at a place of worship or religious gathering.

Read the law — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Section 196

Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony

(1) Whoever —
(a) by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or through electronic communication or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities; or
(b) commits any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity; or
(c) organises any exercise, movement, drill or other similar activity intending that the participants in such activity shall use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, or knowing it to be likely that the participants will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence against any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, and such activity causes or is likely to cause fear, alarm, or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of such group —

shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

(2) Whoever commits any offence specified in sub-section (1) in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in religious worship or religious ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.

Read the law — BNS Section 351, Criminal Intimidation

(1) Whoever threatens another by any means, with any injury to his person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of anyone in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat, commits criminal intimidation.

(2) Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

(3) Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation by threatening to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life or for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.

(4) Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication, or having taken precaution to conceal his name or abode, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years, in addition to the punishment under sub-section (1).

"I was refused a shop, a hostel, a rental, or a public service because I'm Bihari"

The Constitution names "place of birth" as a ground on which the State cannot discriminate — full stop. Refusing someone access to a shop, restaurant, hotel, public well, road, or any facility funded or maintained by the government, specifically because they are from Bihar, is unconstitutional on its face.

Read the law — Constitution of India, Article 15

(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to —
(a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or
(b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.

Read the law — Constitution of India, Article 14

The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.

Worth knowing: Article 15 protects against discrimination by "the State" — a landlord or private business acting entirely on their own is not directly bound by it. And courts have drawn a line between "place of birth" and "residence": a state charging different fees or reserving seats based on how long you've lived there (not where you were born) has, in the past, been allowed to stand. See "What the law doesn't cover," below.

"I was denied a government job, or told I don't belong here"

Unlike Article 15, this next provision explicitly closes the residence loophole — for government jobs specifically. No one can be shut out of public employment anywhere in India because of their birthplace or their residence in Bihar. Separately, publicly asserting that people from a particular region can't be loyal citizens, or should be denied their rights as citizens, because of where they're from, is itself a criminal offence.

Read the law — Constitution of India, Article 16(2)

No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State.

Read the law — BNS Section 197, Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration

(1) Whoever, by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or through electronic communication or otherwise —
(a) makes or publishes any imputation that any class of persons cannot, by reason of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India or uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India; or
(b) asserts, counsels, advises, propagates or publishes that any class of persons shall, by reason of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, be denied or deprived of their rights as citizens of India; or
(c) makes or publishes any assertion, counsel, plea or appeal concerning the obligation of any class of persons, by reason of such membership, which causes or is likely to cause disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between such members and other persons —

shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

(2) Whoever commits any offence specified in sub-section (1) in any place of worship or religious assembly shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.

"I'm a migrant worker and being cheated or mistreated at work"

Bihari workers who travel to another state for work — whether recruited by a contractor or having gone on their own — are legally "inter-State migrant workers," entitled to the same benefits as local workers, an annual paid trip home, and a dedicated helpline.

Read the law — Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

**Section 2(zf), definition:** "Inter-State migrant worker" means a person who is employed in an establishment and who — (i) has been recruited directly by the employer or indirectly through a contractor in one State for employment in an establishment situated in another State; or (ii) has come on his own from one State and obtained employment in an establishment of another State, or has subsequently changed the establishment within that State — under an agreement or arrangement, drawing wages not exceeding ₹18,000 per month or such higher amount as notified.

**Section 60, duties of employer:** Every contractor or employer of an establishment employing inter-State migrant workers must ensure suitable conditions of work given that the worker is away from their home State; report any fatal accident or serious injury to the authorities of both States and to the worker's next of kin; and extend to the worker all benefits available to a worker of that establishment, including ESI and Provident Fund benefits and medical check-ups.

**Section 61, journey allowance:** The employer shall pay every inter-State migrant worker, once a year, a lump sum fare for the round trip to their native place from the place of employment.

**Section 63, helpline:** The appropriate Government may provide a toll-free helpline for inter-State migrant workers.

Note: These provisions came into force on 21 November 2025, replacing the earlier Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979. Detailed implementing rules were still being finalised as of mid-2026.

"Someone defamed me by name over being Bihari"

Where a specific, named person — not just Biharis in general — is publicly branded a criminal, dishonest, or worse, purely on account of being Bihari, that is defamation, a distinct offence from hate speech against the group.

Read the law — BNS Section 356, Defamation

(1) Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes in any manner, any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defame that person.

(2) Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both, or with community service.

This is a non-cognizable, bailable offence — it requires a private complaint before a magistrate, not a police FIR.

"Do I have the right to just live and work wherever I want in India?"

Yes — unconditionally, as a citizen. This is written directly into the Constitution as a fundamental right, not something granted by any host state.

Read the law — Constitution of India, Article 19(1)

All citizens shall have the right —
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; ... and
(g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Read the law — Constitution of India, Article 21

No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

"Where and how do I actually file a complaint?"

You do not need to file where the incident happened. Any police station in India is legally required to register an FIR for a cognizable offence — this is called a Zero FIR — and then transfer it to the police station with jurisdiction. A police officer cannot lawfully turn you away for "wrong jurisdiction."

Read the law — Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, Section 173

(1) Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, **irrespective of the area where the offence is committed**, may be given orally or by electronic communication to an officer in charge of a police station... If given orally, it shall be reduced to writing and read over to the informant, and signed by the person giving it. If given by electronic communication, it shall be taken on record on being signed within three days.

(2) A copy of the information as recorded shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant or the victim.

If police refuse to register an FIR, you can escalate in writing to the Superintendent of Police, or approach the jurisdictional Magistrate directly.

Read the law — Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

**Section 2(d):** "Human rights" means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.

Under Section 12, the Commission may inquire into a complaint either on its own motion or on a petition from any person, and may recommend prosecution, interim relief to the victim, or approach the Supreme Court or a High Court for directions. Complaints must generally be filed within one year of the incident.

You can also take a complaint — including a pattern of incidents documented by this Archive, not just a single case — to the National Human Rights Commission or your State Human Rights Commission, which can investigate on its own initiative or on a petition from anyone, including an organisation acting for affected people.

What the law doesn't cover

Being accurate about this matters more than sounding protected. Four things to know:

There is no dedicated law for this. Everything above is a general provision being applied to a specific situation — not a statute written for Biharis or for internal migrants as such.

"Place of birth" and "residence" are treated differently in court. Since a 1955 Supreme Court ruling (D.P. Joshi v. State of Madhya Pradesh), a state can classify people by how long they've lived there without automatically violating Article 15 — this is the legal basis for domicile-based hiring and college-admission quotas that favour long-term state residents over migrants in several states.

Articles 14, 15, and 16 restrain the government, not private individuals. A landlord or private employer who discriminates isn't reached directly by these Articles.

Most of the criminal provisions above cover speech and threats — not the everyday act of being denied a room, a job interview, or service. India has no general "public accommodations" law of the kind that exists in some other countries; Article 15(2)'s list (shops, restaurants, hotels, public wells and roads) applies only to state or state-funded establishments.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information about applicable laws and is not legal advice. For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified advocate. Laws may be amended — always refer to the latest official gazette for current provisions. For the full text of BNS/BNSS, visit www.indiacode.nic.in.

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