IPC Section 203

02 Jun 2025 --
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IPC Section 203: Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender

Textual Meaning (in simple terms):
Section 203 deals with situations where a person intentionally destroys, conceals, or provides false information about evidence of a crime, to help someone escape punishment.

Essentials/Ingredients of Section 203:

For an act to fall under Section 203, the following elements must be present:

Existence of Evidence:
There must be some evidence or information regarding an offense. This can be documents, objects, or facts that could help in investigating a crime.

Knowledge of an Offence:
The person must know that an offence has been committed. Mere ignorance of the crime will not attract Section 203.

Intent to Screen the Offender:
The main intention of the act should be to protect or screen the offender from legal punishment.
Example: Hiding a murder weapon so that the murderer cannot be traced.

Act of Concealment, Destruction, or False Information:
The person may:

Destroy evidence (e.g., burn a document, erase data)

Conceal evidence (e.g., hide a weapon, hide a body)

Give false information about the offence to mislead authorities.

Punishment under Section 203:

Imprisonment: Up to two years, or

Fine, or

Both

This shows that the law punishes interfering with the administration of justice by hiding facts or evidence.

Illustrations/Examples:

A person sees someone commit theft and throws away the stolen items to protect the thief.
→ This is punishable under Section 203.

A person finds a document proving fraud and hides it from the police to help the fraudster.
→ Punishable under Section 203.

A person gives false information to the police, claiming the accused was elsewhere during the crime, knowing they are guilty.
→ Punishable under Section 203.

Key Points to Remember:

Section 203 is different from obstruction of justice; it specifically targets concealment or destruction of evidence to help an offender.

Mens Rea (intent) is crucial: The act must be done with the intention of screening the offender. Accidental destruction or concealment is not punishable under this section.

Can be combined with other IPC sections like Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence to screen offender) depending on the act.