IPC Section 389
IPC Section 389 – Putting person in fear of accusation of offence, in order to commit extortion
Section 389 IPC deals with extortion obtained by threatening someone with criminal prosecution.
Key Points:
Who is liable?
Any person who puts someone in fear of an accusation of an offence.
The fear must be used to dishonestly obtain property from that person.
Nature of the offence
This is a form of extortion.
The person threatens that they will accuse the victim of a crime unless the victim gives them property or money.
Unlike ordinary extortion (Sec. 383 IPC), here the threat is of legal action or criminal accusation.
Punishment
Imprisonment up to 7 years, and
Fine.
Essential ingredients
Threat of accusation: The offender threatens to accuse someone of an offence.
Dishonest intent: The purpose must be to obtain property dishonestly.
Fear induced: The victim must be put in fear of being accused.
Examples
A person tells someone:
“If you don’t give me ₹50,000, I will report you to the police for tax evasion.”
Punishable under Sec. 389 IPC.
A person threatens a shopkeeper:
“I will accuse you of cheating your customers unless you give me a portion of your profits.”
This is extortion by putting them in fear of accusation.
Purpose of Section 389 IPC
To prevent misuse of criminal law threats for personal gain.
To safeguard people from coercion using the fear of false criminal accusations.
It punishes extortion obtained by threatening someone with legal action.
Conclusion
Section 389 IPC punishes anyone who dishonestly obtains property by threatening to accuse someone of an offence, with imprisonment up to 7 years and fine.
Key focus: extortion through fear of criminal accusation.
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