Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter VI: Of Offences Affecting the Human Body · Of kidnapping, abduction, slavery and forced labour
Section 142: Wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement, kidnapped or abducted person
In plain words
Knowingly hiding or confining a person who has been kidnapped or abducted is punished in the same way as if you had kidnapped or abducted them yourself, with the same intention or purpose.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
Whoever, knowing that any person has been kidnapped or has been abducted, wrongfully conceals or confines such person, shall be punished in the same manner as if he had kidnapped or abducted such person with the same intention or knowledge, or for the same purpose as that with or for which he conceals or detains such person in confinement.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 142
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.