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

Section 216: Harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered- 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The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024.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 253 (Harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered)

Whenever any person convicted of a charged with an offence, being in lawful custody for that offence, escapes from such custody, or whenever a public servant, in the exercise of the lawful powers of such public servant, orders a certain person to be apprehended for an offence, whoever, knowing of such escape or order for apprehension, harbours or conceals that person with the intention of preventing him from being apprehended, shall be punished in the manner following, that is to say, if a capital offence.—if the offence for which the person was in custody or is ordered to be apprehended is punishable with death, he shall 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.—if the offence is punishable with [imprisonment for life] or imprisonment for ten years, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, with or without fine; and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year and not to ten years, he 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 the imprisonment provided for such offence, or with fine, or with both. [“Offence” in this section includes also any act or omission of which a person is alleged to have been guilty out of [India], which, if he had been guilty of it in [India], would have been punishable as an offence, and for which he is, under any law relating to extradition, *** or otherwise, liable to be apprehended or detained in custody in [India], and every such act or omission shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be punishable as if the accused person had been guilty of it in [India].]

Exception.—The provision does not extend to the case in which the harbour or concealment is by the husband or wife of the person to be apprehended.

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 216