(20) Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable . . . to be kept in penal servitude . . .
Section 20: Inflicting bodily injury, with or without weapon
Offences against the Person Act 1861 (1861 c. 100 (24 & 25 Vict.))
Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk as captured on 2026-08-27. Statute is amended over time — check the source below for the version in force. This is a reference, not legal advice.
View s.20 on legislation.gov.ukWhere this section is applied on BlueLineHub
Officer reference cards that cite this provision.
Offence cards
s.18 Shooting or attempting to shoot, or wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harms.23 Maliciously administering poison, &c. so as to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.