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Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter XI: Of False Evidence and Offences against Public Justice

Section 213: Taking gift, etc., to screen an offender from punishment.— if a capital offence; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.

Now in the BNS section 250 (Taking gift, etc., to screen an offender from punishment)

In plain words

Accepting, trying to obtain or agreeing to accept a gratification or restitution of property in return for concealing an offence, screening someone from punishment, or not prosecuting them, is an offence. The punishment depends on the seriousness of the offence.

  • If the offence is punishable with death: imprisonment of either description for up to seven years, and a fine.
  • If punishable with imprisonment for life or up to ten years: up to three years, and a fine.
  • If punishable with less than ten years: up to one-fourth of the longest term, or fine, or both.

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 accepts or attempts to obtain, or agrees to accept, any gratification for himself or any other person, or any restitution of property to himself or any other person, in consideration of his concealing an offence or of his screening any person from legal punishment for any offence, or of his not proceeding against any person for the purpose of bringing him to legal punishment, if a capital offence.—shall, if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment.—and if the offence is punishable with [imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment not extending to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.

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 (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. 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.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 213