Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XIV: Of False Evidence and Offences against Public Justice
Section 262: Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension
In plain words
Intentionally resisting or illegally obstructing your own lawful arrest for an offence you are charged with or convicted of, or escaping or trying to escape from lawful custody, is punishable with up to two years in prison, or a fine, or both.
- This punishment is in addition to the punishment for the original offence.
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 intentionally offers any resistance or illegal obstruction to the lawful apprehension of himself for any offence with which he is charged or of which he has been convicted, or escapes or attempts to escape from any custody in which he is lawfully detained for any such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Explanation.—The punishment in this section is in addition to the punishment for which the person to be apprehended or detained in custody was liable for the offence with which he was charged, or of which he was convicted.
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 262
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.