Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 addresses the offense committed by public servants who conceal knowledge of a design to commit an offense that it is their duty to prevent.
📜 Section 59: Public Servant Concealing Design to Commit Offense Which It Is His Duty to Prevent
Provision:
Whoever, being a public servant, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offense 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 offense, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design shall:(
(a) If the offense is committed, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offense, 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 offense, or with both;
(b) If the offense is punishable with death or imprisonment for life, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years
(c) If the offense is not committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offense 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 offense, 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 offense. 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.
⚖️ Comparison with Indian Penal Code (IPC)
Section 59 of the BNS corresponds to Section 119 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with public servants concealing designs to commit offenses they are duty-bound to prevent. The provisions and penalties under both sections are aligned, emphasizing the legal obligation of public servants to act against criminal activities within their jurisdiction.
🔐 Digital Age Considerations
Notably, Section 59 includes the use of "encryption or any other information hiding tool" as methods of concealing information. This modernizes the provision to address contemporary challenges in information concealment, acknowledging the role of digital tools in facilitating the concealment of criminal designs
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