Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, addresses the offense of a public servant concealing a design to commit an offense that it is their duty to prevent. This provision criminalizes the intentional concealment of information regarding a planned offense by a public servant, especially when such concealment facilitates the commission of the offense.(
📜 Text of Section 59
Section 59 – Public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent
Whoever, being a public servant, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals, by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool, the existence of a design to commit such offence, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design shall,—
(a) if the offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-half of the longest term of such imprisonment, or with such fine as is provided for that offence, or with both; or(
(b) if the offence be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years; or
(c) if the offence be not committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of such imprisonment or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both
Illustration: A, an officer of police, being legally bound to give information of all designs to commit robbery which may come to his knowledge, and knowing that B designs to commit robbery, omits to give such information, with intent to so facilitate the commission of that offence. Here A has by an illegal omission concealed the existence of B’s design, and is liable to punishment according to the provision of this section.
⚖️ Purpose and Scope
This section aims to hold public servants accountable for any deliberate concealment of information regarding planned offenses that fall within their duty to prevent. The inclusion of terms like "encryption" and "information hiding tool" reflects the modern challenges of information concealment in the digital age
📚 Equivalent Provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
Section 59 of the BNS, 2023 corresponds to Section 119 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. Both provisions criminalize the concealment of information by a public servant regarding a design to commit an offense that it is their duty to prevent. However, the BNS introduces more specific language to address contemporary methods of information concealment.
RELATED Blog
0 comments