Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XIV: Of False Evidence and Offences against Public Justice
Section 238: Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender
In plain words
Knowing or believing an offence has been committed, and making evidence of it disappear, or giving false information about it, to shield the offender from punishment, is itself an offence. The punishment depends on how serious the original offence was.
- Original offence punishable with death: up to seven years and a fine.
- Punishable with imprisonment for life or up to ten years: up to three years and a fine.
- Punishable with a shorter term: up to one-fourth of the longest term for that offence, or a fine, or both.
Example: A knows B murdered Z and helps B hide the body to protect him. A can get up to seven years and a fine.
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 or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false shall,—
(a) if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed 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;
(b) if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;
(c) if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not extending to ten years, 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 the imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.
Illustration
A, knowing that B has murdered Z, assists B to hide the body with the intention of screening B from punishment. A is liable to imprisonment of either description for seven years, and also to fine.
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 238
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.